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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 

































I 


OUR DUAL GOVERNMENT 


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OUR DUAL GOVERNMENT 

STUDIES IN 

Americanism for Young People 


By 

EUGENE CLYDE BROOKS 

President , North Carolina State College of Agriculture and 
Engineering; Author of “The Story of Cotton” 

“The Story of Corn” and “Education 
for Democracy” 


RAND MCNALLY & COMPANY 

Chicago New York 

i °l 'L H : 





Copyright, 1924, by 
Rand M9Nally & Company 




Made in U. S. A. 

SEP 27 *24 

©CIA 807086 

' 'Vic / 



THE TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The Preface .7 

CHAPTER 

I. Goverment by Law. . 11 

II. The Growth of Our Government .... 19 

III. How the Pioneers Developed Self-Reliance 25 

IV. How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 35 

V. Service to Others: Story of John Chapman 49 

VI. Learning to Cooperate: A Story of Benjamin 

Franklin .59 

VII. Origin of Government by Constitution . . 72 

VIII. The Declaration of Independence ... 83 

IX. How a New Government Was Created . . 90 

X. Our Government. 107 

XI. Constitution of the United States . . 121 

XII. Washington, the First President .... 142 

XIII. True Americanism. 155 

XIV. Makers of the Nation. 168 

XV. Our National Hymn. 177 

XVI. The American’s Creed. 180 

XVII. Makers of Our State Government. . . .183 

XVIII. Constitution of the State of North Carolina 206 

A Bibliography .240 

The Index .241 


5 




















THE PREFACE 


Ours is “a government of laws and not of men"; 
and since an orderly government can exist only 
through just laws impartially enforced, it is the duty 
of our public schools to give the wisest possible 
instruction in the nature and purpose and activity 
of our government. Each state has a right to expect 
its teachers to place considerable emphasis on our 
civic responsibilities, to the end that those who are 
being trained may have a consciousness of their 
duties as worthy citizens and a greater respect for 
popular government. 

The laws have their origin in the people; and as 
they function through our institutions they give the 
framework of our history and erect standards of con¬ 
duct for our citizens. The tendencies of our people, 
the ideals of our public officials, and the glory or 
shame of our history are determined by the respect 
of our citizens for law and order. The purpose, 
therefore, of Our Dual Government is not only to 
present a study of our government—its origin, its 
nature, and its purpose—but it is to show how its 
safety is dependent upon a patriotic and an enlight¬ 
ened citizenship. A brief review of its contents is as 
follows: 

First, it gives in story form the character of the 
men and women who laid the foundation of a new 
civilization in the New World—how these men and 


7 


8 


The Preface 


women developed a self-reliance, a spirit of service 
and cooperation, and a capacity for local self-govern¬ 
ment which gave to America the first thirteen states 
and, through the union of these states, the United 
States of America. 

Second, it traces, in language which young people 
may easily understand, the development of constitu¬ 
tional government, leading up to the Declaration 
of Independence, to the adoption of a constitution 
for the state, and finally culminating in the crea¬ 
tion of the federal Constitution and our national 
government. 

Third, it presents certain outstanding facts of our 
history in such a manner as to give young people 
a guide in evaluating national policies, and suggests 
a method of teaching history which, it is believed, 
will increase the respect of our youth for our insti¬ 
tutions and for the flag and what it represents. 

Fourth, it closes with a discussion of the makers 
of the state constitution and of our state government 
and the purposes of both. Moreover, it presents 
evidences of how the freedom and prosperity of our 
people depend upon the character of our state and 
local governments. 

Our schools should respond readily to suggestions 
from our patriotic organizations and should cooper¬ 
ate with them in arousing and training the civic 
conscience of pupils in the schools and of the whole 
people as well. They should follow the advice of the 
American Bar Association and instruct our young 
people to feel that, just as the minutemen of the 


The Preface 


9 


Revolution were ready upon a moment’s notice to 
defend the people’s rights against foreign usurpation, 
so it is the duty of every patriotic American today to 
be a “minuteman of the Constitution” ready at all 
times to cooperate with all good citizens in making 
our civic standards more nearly ideal, to defend the 
long-established and cherished institutions of our 
government against attack, either from within or 
from without, and to do his part in preserving the 
blessings of liberty for which our forefathers fought 
and died. 


The Author 





THE CAPITOL, Washington, 
















OUR DUAL GOVERNMENT 


CHAPTER I 
Government by Law 

What is law? All people, children as well as 
grown people, are guided by some rule that 
directs them to do things in a certain way and 
to avoid doing many things that might be hurt¬ 
ful to them or to others. Law is simply a rule 
of conduct. It may be the result of custom, as, 
for example, in driving along the road we turn 
to the right when meeting people. This is a 
rule or law made by custom. But sometimes a 
custom becomes harmful, and then it is neces¬ 
sary to change it. A new rule or law is adopted 
that breaks old customs, and this sometimes 
makes many people angry. For example, a few 
years ago it was the custom for people to buy or 
sell or drink as much intoxicating liquor as they 
desired. But this custom was declared to be 
harmful. Therefore a new rule or law was 
adopted prohibiting the sale of liquor. 

The conduct of children, the habits of adults, 
the roads we travel, the health of the people, 
the food we eat, the work we follow, and the 


12 


Our Dual Government 


amusements we enjoy—all are affected by the 
rules or laws we observe. Why then should 
our law makers be the best and most intelli¬ 
gent people we have? 

What is government? It is impossible to have 
good laws without good government. Then 
what is government? It is a body or organi¬ 
zation which exercises control over people and 
through which the laws function. There are 
several different kinds of government, but the 
aim of all is the same—to exercise certain control 
over people within the organization. 

There is family government. In the home 
certain customs or rules or laws are observed 
that are peculiar to the members of the family, 
such as the time and place of eating and sleeping, 
the kind of work that each performs, and certain 
things that the children may or may not do. 
Those in authority exercise control, and this is 
family government. No two families are gov¬ 
erned exactly alike. 

There is school government. In the school 
certain rules are observed. They govern the 
time of entering; they regulate tardiness and 
absence; they determine when a child may pass 
from one grade to another; they require teachers 
to have certain preparation for their work; they 
regulate the games and plays on the school 
grounds, and many other details of the school. 


Government by Law 


i3 


There is the government of industries. Stores, 
factories, railroads, and other large business or 
industrial concerns likewise have certain cus¬ 
toms, rules, or laws which must be observed by 
their employees. The managers owe certain 
duties to the employees; and the employees 
must be honest; they must come up to certain 
standards of industry; they must be sober and 
avoid drunkenness; and they must observe 
certain courtesies in order that the business or 
industry may be in good favor with the people. 

There is municipal government. In every 
town or county or city certain rules or laws are 
recognized which affect the welfare of the 
people. They seek to protect the home, provide 
schools, promote health, maintain streets or 
roads, protect the people against wicked men 
and women, and do many other things that 
promote the welfare of all. 

There is state government. The state is made 
up of many families and towns and counties. 
It is over all and exercises control of all. All 
organizations within the state derive their 
authority from the state government, which has 
large control over the conduct of all the people 
within its borders. The greatness of a state, 
therefore, depends upon the character of all the 
families within it, upon the efficiency of the 
governments of the towns and counties and 


14 


Our Dual Government 


cities, and especially upon the ability and char¬ 
acter of the officials who are selected to conduct 
the government. 

Finally there is the federal or national govern¬ 
ment. This is the result of a union of all the 
states and has certain control over the people 
in all the states. But its control is limited. 
The kind of government that the nation or the 
state may have is described in its constitution. 

Since the purpose of government is to pro¬ 
mote the welfare of all, it is essential that those 
selected to conduct the government should 
possess character and a desire to be just and 
fair to all. Moreover, they must possess suffi¬ 
cient intelligence to understand the needs of the 
people and have the courage so to direct their 
efforts that what is done may be for the benefit 
of all. 

A constitution. What is a constitution? It 
is the custom in this country, whenever a given 
number of people unite for the purpose of co¬ 
operating in business or of promoting any other 
particular enterprise, to organize and adopt a 
charter or constitution. This is a written 
document, describing the nature of the organiza¬ 
tion, how the government shall be organized, 
and what shall be its functions. We have the 
charter of a business organization or of a town. 
We have the constitution of a state or of the 


Government by Law 


15 


nation. The purpose is the same—that is, it is 
the supreme law or rule to guide the organiza¬ 
tion. 

The Constitution of the United States is the 
supreme law of the country. It binds all the 
states and territories together into one great 
nation. But each state has its own constitution, 
which provides for the general welfare of its 
citizens. The nation protects the citizens of 
each state against attacks or insults from foreign 
countries; but each state guards the individual’s 
rights and protects his life and property. The 
nation regulates commerce between states and 
provides a uniform currency system in order 
that citizens throughout the country may 
transact business readily with one another; 
but each state promotes the education of its 
children, safeguards the public health, provides 
for good roads, promotes agricultural progress, 
and encourages every citizen to work and to 
progress. The nation aids the state in its 
efforts to promote the general welfare of all 
its citizens; but the citizens of the states supply 
the nation with men and money according to 
its needs. All this is accomplished by law— 
the law of the nation and the law of the state. 

The value of law. If we were to destroy the 
supreme law of the nation, the states would 
fall apart. Each would be unable to protect 


16 Our Dual Government 

itself against foreign enemies or against the 
lawlessness and greed of other states. Our 
citizens would not be able to travel easily from 
one part of the country to another, or to com¬ 
municate readily with people of other states, or 
to transact business safely and without great 
difficulty. The national government protects 
the states and guarantees the people greater 
freedom. 

If we were to destroy suddenly the laws of 
the state, at once the individual citizens in the 
towns and counties would be without adequate 
protection. Our schools would break down for 
lack of support, the people would stop building 
roads and travel would be different, our prop¬ 
erty would not be safe, and thieves and robbers 
would be turned loose on honest people. Our 
lives would be in danger, murder would be more 
frequent, and all the people would be compelled 
to go armed for self-defense. No man could 
own his own home, and his wife and children 
would not be safe. The state law protects the 
individual and gives him individual freedom. 
Without law there could be no freedom for the 
great majority of people. 

A dual government. Every citizen of the 
United States is under two governments—the 
state and the national. Our country, therefore, 
has a dual form of government, and the two 


Government by Law 


i7 


have been working together and each has been 
performing its own proper functions for more 
than a hundred years. As a result the nation 
has grown so great and the people of the several 
states have become so prosperous that the 
United States is today considered the greatest 
nation in the world. Only once has there been 
serious friction between the states. No other 
nation has been freer from internal strife or so 
free from foreign wars. 

The United States was the first nation to 
establish such a government. But since its 
creation the great men of other nations have 
studied it, many countries have copied it, and 
all.the leading nations have been affected by 
it, because people of other countries have seen 
how much freedom the people of America 
enjoy and have demanded the same freedom 
for themselves. So remarkable does this gov¬ 
ernment seem to the people of other countries 
that millions of men, women, and children 
from many foreign countries have come here 
to live, and the children in the public schools 
of other nations are required to study our 
government. 

Why children should study our government. 

The children of every state in this United 
States should study their own government that 
they may at least be as well informed as the 


2 


i8 


Our Dual Government 


children of foreign nations. They should know 
its strength that they may be able to support 
it, and they should know its weakness that 
they may be able to strengthen it. They should 
study its origin and growth in order to under¬ 
stand how it began, how it has grown, and what 
it needs today to make it continue to be the 
greatest government in the world. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

Teachers should strive to give the students an under¬ 
standing of the meaning of government. This chapter is 
intended primarily for the teachers and pupils to read 
together and to discuss. The teacher should be prepared 
to discuss the government of the home, the school, and 
the community, showing the necessity of law and what 
advantages come to all as a result of just laws wisely 
administered. The pupils should understand why we 
punish and what would be the result if there were no way 
to make bad people obey the laws, and why some form of 
punishment is necessary in order to make people consider¬ 
ate of the rights of others. The laws should be fair and 
just. But ignorant or bad people cannot make or execute 
good laws. Hence the necessity of having our best citi¬ 
zens make the laws and execute them. There is a law 
in nature, and people suffer for violating it: fire bums, 
exposure causes sickness and carelessness causes disease. 
Law rules in the physical world; and government is 
necessary in order that law may rule in the social 
world. 


CHAPTER II 


The Growth of Our Government 

The origin of good government. We read in 
Chapter I of the necessity of government and 
the need of law as a guide to the conduct of 
all people. It should be remembered that all 
just laws are the products of just lawmakers, 
and all good government is made by good citizens 
who seek the welfare of all the people. Bad men 
do not create good governments, and if the 
people elect bad men or incompetent men to 
office, they should not be surprised if they have 
as a result bad government. 

Our government is the result of years of 
growth, and since it has had the greatest 
influence over the character of our people 
it is necessary to study its origin and the 
stages of its growth. 

Stages of its growth. The growth of our 
government may be divided into four stages: 
(i) The period of settlement, when the individ¬ 
uals learned self-reliance; that is, how to build 
their homes, make a living, and protect their 
lives in this New World. (2) The period of 
working out a form of self-government; that is, 


19 


20 


Our Dual Government 


when the people learned how to make laws for 
their own welfare and how to require individuals 
to obey those laws in order that the liberty of 
all might be preserved. This taught them to 
cooperate that they might be helpful to one 
another. (3) The period of separation from 
Great Britain, when the colonies saw that it 
was necessary for them to take such a step, and 
when they established the dual form of govern¬ 
ment that we have today. (4) The period of 
our national life, when the people inaugurated 
the new government whose purpose has been 
carried out during this period of more than a 
hundred years. 

How the nations divided this continent. It 

will be interesting to see how the territory now 
known as the United States was once divided 
among the nations of Europe. When the con¬ 
tinent was first settled, England owned a narrow 
strip of land along the Atlantic Coast from 
Maine to Florida. France owned the territory 
north of Maine and the Great Lakes and much 
of the Mississippi Valley. Spain owned what 
is now Florida and southern Alabama and the 
greater part of the territory , west of the Missis¬ 
sippi River. Mexico, which belonged to Spain 
at one time, extended northward and included 
the greater part of the territory, now in the 
United States, west of the Mississippi River. 


The Growth of Our Government 


21 


The thirteen colonies. Our history tells us 
how the territory which belonged to England 
was settled. Until 1607 all of it was inhabited 
by savage Indians. But in that year a small 
number of Englishmen settled in what is now 
Virginia. Within a few years another small 
group settled in Massachusetts. Settlements 
continued to be made until in 1776 there 
were thirteen separate and distinct settlements 
located along the Atlantic Coast. We should 
remember them because they gave us first our 
state governments and later our national govern¬ 
ment. If we begin farthest north, we have the 
New England group: New Hampshire, Massa¬ 
chusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut; then 
follows the middle group: New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland; 
and lastly the southern group: Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia — in all, 
thirteen. 

When these colonies were first created, many 
miles of unbroken forests separated them, and 
many rivers and arms of the sea made it difficult 
to travel by land from one colony to another. 
In those days there were no roads, no bridges 
across the streams, but only Indian trails lead¬ 
ing from one settlement to another. It was 
impossible to travel by buggy, and it was 
difficult to make a journey on horseback. The 


22 


Our Dual Government 


little sailboats used in those days made the 
journey by water very dangerous. Therefore 
there was little visiting between the settlements 
at first, and as a result the people of the different 
colonies did not know each other very well. 

As we have seen, each of these thirteen 
settlements was located on land belonging to 
England. That made them colonies of Eng¬ 
land. Each was allowed a certain form of 
government. Therefore, in 1776, when the 
colonies decided to separate from England, there 
were thirteen different governments in the 
English territory. 

How the colonies became states. But how 

did these thirteen colonies become states and 
create such a wonderful government? Why did 
they break away from the English government, 
which kept them disunited and almost strangers 
to one another, and substitute for English rule 
a national government of their own which 
united the states and gave to the world its 
finest example of a dual form of government? 

The answer to these questions’makes a long 
story. It is partly told in the United States 
histories which the children study in school. 
But the source of the government must be found 
in the lives of the people. What did they 
possess which they used in creating such a 
government? The country that was settled 


The Growth of Our Government 


23 


has already been partly described. These very 
conditions that the first settlers met, created a 
new kind of civilization in America. 

The first people who settled here were called 
pioneers, which means they were the first to 
go into a new country to live. They were at 
liberty to go and to live wherever they pleased 
and do as they pleased in the forests. But 
many of them starved before the remainder 
developed sufficient self-reliance to make their 
way in a new world. A group of pioneers liv¬ 
ing in one community was called a colony. 
These colonies had to learn how to govern 
themselves, and it was often the case that the 
people in a small colony quarreled and fought 
with one another, and sometimes many were 
killed because they had not learned how to 
make fair laws for the government of all. In 
other words, they learned that there could not 
be liberty for all without law. 

Many of the pioneers lived lives of hardship. 
But when they had developed self-reliance, and 
understood what a little helpfulness to others 
might mean, they taught the new people how 
to get a better start in the New World than 
the first settlers had had. They taught them 
how to cooperate and to be mutually helpful. 
Therefore when the time came to set up a new 
government, the lives they had lived and the 


24 


Our Dual Government 


lessons they had learned became a part of this 
new government. 

The origin, therefore, of our state and national 
constitutions is found in the spirit of freedom 
offered by the new undeveloped country, in the 
self-reliance and self-government which the 
people themselves developed, in their helpful¬ 
ness to one another and the spirit of cooperation 
which taught them to work together in harmony, 
and in the patriotism of our great leaders. 
When the people declared themselves independ¬ 
ent of England the colonies at once became 
states. The people of the colonies had so lived 
that they were able to create strong states and 
to unite these states into a strong nation. 

The young people in school should know that 
the lives of the people of today are helping in 
the same way to make a good or a bad govern¬ 
ment, for the laws grow out of the lives of the 
people. Our government is a government of 
laws. 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

Why is respect for law the greatest lesson we can learn ? 
Review the history of the first settlement and show how 
the colonists died because they did not know how to 
govern themselves. The school is held together by law. 
Otherwise, each teacher and each pupil could do as he 
pleased. This would destroy the school. Show how 
respect for the law' of the school is essential. 


CHAPTER III 


How the Pioneers Developed 
Self-Reliance 

Value of self-reliance. It was said in Chap¬ 
ter II that self-reliance was one of the first and 
most valuable qualities developed by the early 
pioneers. It is one great quality that boys 
and girls of today should possess, if they wish 
to become useful men and women. 

Suppose about a hundred young people who 
had never been accustomed to work or to sup¬ 
port themselves were suddenly set down in the 
midst of a great forest three thousand miles 
from any other people. How long would they 
live? That would depend upon whether they 
could rely upon themselves to supply their own 
food, clothing, and shelter. In the same way 
those men and women who left England and 
came three thousand miles to live in a new 
country had to learn to support themselves. 

Example of Robinson Crusoe. After the first 
English settlements were made in the New 
World, many stories of how the pioneers lived 
in America were told in England. But the most 
interesting is the imaginary story of Robinson 


25 


2 6 


Our Dual Government 


Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe. It has been 
read perhaps by more young people than any 
other story ever written, except the Bible stories. 
It is still read in School, although it was written 
more than two hundred years ago, and people 
are interested in it today because it tells so well 
the story of how a man learned to support him¬ 
self without the help of anyone. 

It is a story of a young man who is supposed 
to have left home to see the New World. But 
after reaching the West Indies, he was ship¬ 
wrecked and cast upon an uninhabited island. 
Like many of the first settlers and many people 
even today, he did not know how to provide 
the things necessary for his own comfort and 
safety. He did not even know how to work 
intelligently. The first night on land he slept 
in a tree for fear that he might be attacked by 
wild beasts or by some savage Indian. 

How Robinson Crusoe developed self-reliance. 
Robinson Crusoe had no law to guide him and 
no friend to help him. He had to learn how to 
live in this New World without assistance. The 
laws of England did not aid him. He had to 
make his own laws. He secured from the 
wrecked vessel enough food, clothing, tools, 
firearms, and ammunition to last him awhile. 
This is just about what the first settlers had 
when they landed in the New World. But he 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Reliance 27 


knew that his food and clothing would not last 
very long, and that he must become self-reliant 
or die. 

After securing what goods he could from the 
wrecked vessel, the next thing he had to do was 
to select a good spot on which to build his house, 
and he had to learn to use his tools. It took 
him a long time to build his home without any 
help. 

One day he knew that he was sick, that he 
had a fever, and he was afraid he was going to 
die. He had to study the cause of his sickness 
and make the medicine that he took. Then he 
began to study how to form good habits in 
order that he might not be sick again. He had 
to work out his own health laws. 

He had no one to cook the game that he 
killed, and he had to learn how to prepare his 
food and how to make the vessels in which to 
cook it. He learned to be a good cook because 
his health depended upon it. 

He had brought much bread from the wrecked 
vessel, but this could not last very long. There¬ 
fore he had to clear some land, prepare it for 
cultivation, and plant the seed which he found 
on the vessel. Then in order to keep the birds 
and wild goats from eating the seed, he had to 
guard his garden and build a fence around it. 
He had no almanac or calendar to tell him the 


28 


Our Dual Government 


day of the week or the month, and he must 
know the time of the year in which to plant his 
grain. He learned, therefore, how to keep 
account of the days of the week and the months 
and years as they passed. In this way he was 
able to tell the day of the month and how long 
he had lived on the island. 

His clothes were wearing out, and he had to 
learn how to prepare the skins of animals and 
sew them together in such a way as to make 
comfortable clothes. 

He needed a chair, a table, and a bed. He 
had only a few tools to work with, but working 
day after day he made a comfortable chair, a 
table that answered his needs, and a bed that 
was fairly comfortable. 

When his grain was harvested he needed 
baskets to contain it. Therefore he gathered 
some grass or slender branches and made the 
baskets and then gathered his grain. 

He tamed the wild goats that he might have 
some milk to drink and plenty of good meat at 
all times, even if his powder and shot should 
give out. He learned to look ahead and to 
anticipate his needs. He was wiser than the 
Indians or many young people of today. 

All these and many other things he learned 
during the twenty-eight years he lived on the 
island. It was necessity that made him rely 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Reliance 29 

wholly on himself. He had to be careful and 
develop good moral habits. He had to make 
the things he needed and the laws governing 
his own conduct. He learned both self-reliance 
and self-government. 

When he was rescued and carried back to 
England, he could not live happily under the 
old laws. He sighed for the free life of his 
island, the life he had learned to love. He had 
created for himself a new kind of government 
with new laws that was much better for him 
than the old government of England with its 
old laws. 

Examples of the early settlers. There were 
a hundred and five men in the party that accom¬ 
panied Captain John Smith to Virginia, but 



From Mace’s Stories of Heroism. 

THE SITE OF JAMESTOWN 


most of them died from starvation or disease 
before they learned how to support themselves. 
When the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts a 





30 


Our Dual Government 


few years later, they too suffered greatly from 
cold and hunger and exposure. But soon they 
learned to do many things they had never done 
in England. They learned to build their own 
houses from trees in a free forest, to clear new 
land wherever they pleased to build a house, to 
raise their own grain on their own land, to hunt 
the wild animals for food and clothing, and to 
defend themselves against the Indians. The 
forests were so vast, the game so abundant, the 
soil so fertile, and the land so plentiful that 
the settlers could provide a good living and be 
free, if they only knew how to do these things 
and were willing to work. 

After the settlers had become accustomed to 
the new free life in America, they had no desire 
to return to Europe. They were like Robinson 
Crusoe. They had formed new habits which 
were unlike the habits even of their friends and 
relatives in England. 

Example of Daniel Boone. If the reader will 
study the lives of Daniel Boone, David Crockett, 
Kit Carson, and other pioneers, he will find 
many examples of heroism based on self-reliance, 
which these men developed in the forests of 
America where few laws were needed save what 
they made for their own guidance. 

When Daniel Boone and his companions left 
North Carolina for Kentucky, they lived in the 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Reliance 


3i 



From Roosevelt’s Winning of the West, Vo). II 
after the original painting by Alonzo Chappel. 


DANIEL BOONE 










32 


Our Dual Government 


great forests. Much of the time Boone was 
alone, and it was not unusual for him to sleep 
in a tree to protect himself from Indians and 
wild beasts. He had to provide food and clothes 
for himself, preserve his own health, make his 
own rules of conduct, form his own habits, pro¬ 
tect himself from hostile Indians and wild 
beasts, keep his own time, and learn how to 
direct himself through the forests. 

In nearly every section of our country may 
be found monuments to men like Boone, who 
had won self-reliance and the spirit of freedom 
and were willing to show other settlers the way 
through the forests to rich lands that could be 
had for the asking. Thus we see that people 
erect monuments to the men and women who 
are self-reliant and who show other people how 
to lead better lives and to support themselves. 

Example of David Crockett. David Crockett 
of Tennessee is another good example of a self- 
reliant pioneer. On one of his long hunting 
trips he was caught in a terrible snowstorm, and 
suddenly it turned bitterly cold. Most people 
of today under such circumstances would freeze 
to death, but Crockett knew how to protect 
himself. He was growing desperately cold, and 
having no fire, he spent the night climbing a 
smooth, round tree and sliding down—climbing 
and sliding all night. The exercise and the 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Reliance 33 

friction kept him warm, and next morning he 
found his way home through the forest. 

Life in the colonies different from life in 
England. It is easy to see why in this new 
country the settlers first developed self-reliance 
and self-control. The men and women were 
scattered along the coast and back through the 
forests where there was an abundance of free 
land and wild game, and no laws to bother 
them. When they needed laws or rules they 
made them fit their needs. They had wide 
freedom to act as they pleased. No wonder 
they became indignant when laws were passed 
in England and sent over for them to obey! 
What could England know of their needs or 
how they lived? 

The people of Europe, crowded together in 
cities and villages, with no free land, no great 
country to explore or settle, required many 
laws to keep down friction. They could not 
understand that in the forests and along the 
coast of North America their own kinsmen 
were developing mew habits that were laying 
the foundation of a new government based on 
self-reliance and individual freedom. 

The beginning of a new government. As 
Robinson Crusoe was compelled to work out 
rules for his own conduct, so the pioneers of 
America had to work out rules of conduct for 


3 


34 


Our Dual Government 


themselves. New habits, new customs, and 
new ways of making a living made it necessary 
for them to make new laws for themselves. No 
one else could do it. The government of Eng¬ 
land tried to prohibit their making certain laws 
and then tried to make the laws of England fit 
America. But these efforts resulted in failure. 
The colonists, in learning to live without the 
support of England, learned how to create a 
new government that hag won the admiration 
of more people than any other government 
ever established. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

Tell the stories of other pioneers and of the early 
settlers in our state. Who were they? Did they have 
the same qualities of self-reliance and self-control that 
Boone and Crockett had? Are the young people today 
developing self-reliance? 

Show that the home and the school seek to make the 
boy or girl self-reliant, so that he or she may acquire good 
habits, the capacity to work for himself and provide his 
own happiness, and the ability to support himself. Our 
government expects this much of every teacher. 


CHAPTER IV 


How the Pioneers Developed 
Self-Government 

Why government is necessary. Our conduct 
is governed by law. Some of the rules or laws 
we ourselves make. We learn from experience 
that certain acts are harmful, and we resolve 
not to be guilty of them again. Then we find 
that certain habits are very valuable, and we 
adopt them. So out of our experience, we 
make many laws for our own guidance. This 
is the way the pioneers learned to make laws for 
themselves. And the laws of today are the 
outgrowth of the experiences of the people. 

When Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked, 
suppose fifty men had been cast upon the island 
with him. What do you think would have 
happened to them? Since they had no laws 
to govern them, it is probable that each would 
have tried to do as he pleased. This would 
have led to quarreling and fighting. A few of 
them would have been killed by the others. 
Some would have been industrious and others 
would have been lazy. Some would have taken 
the food belonging to others and probably 


35 


36 


Our Dual Government 


some would have perished from starvation. 
This is what may take place in a community 
where there is no law, or where the people do 
not respect the law. 

By and by the strongest in the crowd would 
have secured enough followers to force all the 
others into submission. He would have created 
a government, and in it his word would have 
been the law. This is the way many govern¬ 
ments were created hundreds of years ago, before 
the people learned how to make their own laws 
and to govern by law. 

But if all had been as intelligent as Robinson 
Crusoe, they might have come together and 
decided what rules or laws were necessary for 
the welfare of all the people, what part of the 
island each should hold as his own property 
and how he should be protected in the use of 
it, and what punishment should be inflicted on 
those who broke the laws. They would have 
agreed among themselves on a form of govern¬ 
ment afid would have selected their own officers 
to preserve order and to see that justice was 
maintained. Each one then would have had 
great freedom under the law. This is self- 
government and it is the kind of government 
that the colonists developed in America after 
many distressing hardships and many valuable 
experiences. 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 37 


Liberty for all is impossible without law. 
Our country is governed by the law of the people, 
not of one man; and its purpose is to give equal 
rights to all. But how did we develop self- 
government in America, a government in which 
the people determine what laws are made and 
how they shall be enforced? 

Example of the Jamestown colony. The 
Jamestown colony furnishes a good example 
of a community without self-government at 
first. Before the colony came to America, King 
James of England gave a charter to a company 
of Englishmen living in London, authorizing 
them to make settlements in America. The 
charter was a written agreement in which the 
company agreed, for the privilege of occupying 
a large area in America, to give the king one- 
fifth of all the gold and silver found in Virginia, 
and it was further agreed that all who settled 
in Virginia should enjoy the same liberties as 
those born and remaining in England. But 
the settlers were given no voice in their own 
government. 

This company, known as the London Com¬ 
pany, sent out its first colony in 1607. It 
consisted of one hundred and five men. There 
were no women in the party. They landed in 
May, perhaps the best time of the year. The 
forests were fresh with green foliage and bright 


38 


Our Dual Government 


with spring flowers. The birds were making 
merry, and rabbits, squirrels, and all kinds of 
game were frolicking in the woods as these 
one hundred and five men went ashore. They 
had come to a beautiful country, and they 
expected soon to be rich and return to England. 
They had no concern for laws or government. 
They were not even self-reliant. Soon they 
were quarreling among themselves, and even 
before the first summer had passed they were 
starving, though living in a land rich in all kinds 
of resources. But they did not know how to 
work or how to govern themselves. While 
wandering about through the forest, many were 
wounded or killed by Indians. They had 
liberty, but it is the kind that leads to confusion, 
distress, and even death. 

Captain John Smith, the strongest man in the 
company, finally took charge and restored order. 
He made the men go to work. They were 
required to plant corn. But after two years 
Captain Smith returned to England, and within 
a short time only thirty-eight of the original 
one hundred and five were alive. The number 
was increased by one hundred and twenty more 
men, and soon the total number that lived in 
Jamestown reached five hundred. They too 
quarreled and fought with one another, and 
many of them starved. They did not know 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 39 



From an engraving by Simon Passe after 
map in Smith’s Generali Historie of Virginia. 


CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 


how to live properly, and only about sixty of 
the five hundred survived. There could not 
be real liberty or freedom for all without law, 












































































40 


Our Dual Government 


and these men of Jamestown had not learned 
how to make such laws as would preserve the 
whole colony. 

Beginning of self-government in America. It 

was not until 1619, twelve years after the first 
settlement was made, that the people began to 
govern themselves wisely. During that period 
nearly three thousand people came to Jamestown, 
and it is said that approximately three-fourths of 
them died. They suffered greatly because many 
had not even learned the lesson of self-reliance, 
on which self-government must be based. But 
why were these early settlers of Virginia so 
slow in learning? 

1. They had no home life and no homes to 
protect. The colonists at first consisted only 
of men. 

2. They were not self-reliant. They did not 
know how to make a living or how to preserve 
their health in this New World. 

3. They had governors, many of whom did 
not consider the welfare of the people, and the 
people themselves took little interest in creating 
a government for the benefit of all. 

By 1619 a change had come over the people. 
After suffering much they had acquired some 
wisdom. Each man was given a certain num¬ 
ber of acres of land and was taught to raise 
corn and tobacco. This was really the beginning 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 41 

of their self-reliance. Then 1619 ninety young 
women were sent over. The men married them 



From Mace-Petrie’s American School History 


YOUNG WOMEN LANDING AT JAMESTOWN 

and built homes for them. And finally they 
were allowed to elect twenty representatives 
to advise with the government in making the 
laws of the colony. This was the first law¬ 
making body in the New World. The colonists 
were now obligated to obey laws of their own 
making. 

From this time on the colony prospered 
greatly. The people had trouble frequently 
with their governors, who opposed many of 
their acts. But this opposition caused them 
to become skillful in the struggle for their 





42 


Our Dual Government 


rights. They had been promised the same 
rights as those possessed by English citizens 
living in England, and in making their own 
laws they demanded the same freedom that 
Englishmen had in the mother country. The 
colony of Virginia soon became very prosperous. 
The people were learning to govern themselves, 
and the colony produced many great statesmen 
who were later to give the world a valuable 
lesson in self-government, for they helped to 
work out our present form of government. 

The example of the Pilgrims. The story of 
the Pilgrim colony is somewhat different from 
that of the Jamestown colony. The Pilgrims 
landed on the coast of Massachusetts in 1620. 
Unlike the first colony, they came with their 
families and built their homes. They had a 
form of government from the first and began 
to govern themselves from the day they landed. 
Having learned how to govern, they began in 
the New World without the help of any com¬ 
pany or king. Whenever one of their number 
did not like their laws, they either sent him 
back to England or made him leave the colony. 
But where did they get their government? 

Before they left their ship, the “Mayflower,” 
they drew up a form of agreement called the 
“Mayflower” Compact, which each of the 
Pilgrims signed. Here is a copy of it: 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 43 

The “Mayflower” Compact 1 
In ye name of God, Amen. We whose names are under¬ 
write^ the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King 
James, by ye grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, & 
Ireland, king, defender of ye faith, etc., haveing undertaken, 
for ye glorie of God and advancemente of ye Christian faith, and 
honour of our king and countrie, a voyage to plant ye first 
colonie in ye Northeme parts of Virginia, doe by these presents 
solemnly & mutualy in ye presence of God, and one of another, 
covenant & combine our selves togeather into a civill body 
politick, for our better ordering & preservation & furtherance of 
ye ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof to enacte, constitute, 
and frame such just & equall lawes, ordinances, acts, constitu¬ 
tions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most 
meete & convenient for ye generall good of ye Colonie, unto 
which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witnes 
wherof we have hereunder subscribed our names, Cap-Codd 
ye 11. of November, in ye year of ye raigne of our soveraigne 
lord, King James, of England, France, & Ireland ye eighteenth, 
and of Scotland ye fiftiefourth. Ano: Dom. 1620. 

IThe use of capitals, the punctuation and spelling are from the original. 



SIGNING THE COMPACT IN THE CABIN OP THE “MAYFLOWER 

















- 44 


Our Dual Government 


This act bound them to make “just and equall 
lawes” and then to obey those laws. From the 
beginning, this colony was governed by law, 
and by such just and equal laws as the people 
themselves were able to enact. This agreement 
was in writing, and each member of the colony 
knew his duty. As a result, the life of the 
Pilgrims for the first few years in Massachusetts 
was quite different from that of the Jamestown 
colonists. 

During the first year they led a hard life and 
came near starving because they did not know 
how to raise corn and ’other foods. But it 
required only about a year for them to learn, 
and at the end of the next harvest they had food 
in abundance. The colony was prosperous, and 
the people had liberty within the law and were 
free to develop. And they were so proud of 
their success that they gave a great Thanks¬ 
giving feast to celebrate their prosperity. This 
was the beginning of our Thanksgiving cele¬ 
bration. Later a large group of people called 
Puritans came over and settled where Boston 
is now located. Like the early Pilgrims, they 
brought their form of government with them. 
They too made their own laws, and the people 
were taught to respect the laws they made. 
Massachusetts became a great colony and pro¬ 
duced many great men who worked with the 



How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 45 

Virginians when the time came to establish a 
new government for all the colonies. 

Example of Pennsylvania. In 1681 Charles 
II of England gave William Penn about 40,000 
square miles of territory in what is now Penn¬ 
sylvania. This was in part settlement of a 
debt which Charles II owed Penn's father. In 


PENN’S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS 

that same year Penn sent over a shipload of 
colonists, and the next year he came over as 
governor and founded Philadelphia. 

When the land was granted to Penn he was 
given the right to make the laws “with the 
advice, assent and approbation of the freemen 
of said country, or the greater part of them or 
of their delegates or deputies.” This was 





46 


Our Dual Government 


another written agreement. This and the 
“Mayflower” Compact are quite different from 
the London Company’s charter. From the 
beginning the people of Pennsylvania were to 
have a voice in their own government. In 
other words, they were to make their own laws, 
govern themselves, and require all who came to 
this community to obey their laws. 

Pennsylvania was well located. It was easy 
to make a living there. The colonists brought 
their families and built their homes, and the 
colony prospered from the beginning. William 
Penn, its governor, was one of the best men any 
colony ever had. He believed that everyone 
should be free to worship God in the way he 
thought right, that the children should be taught 
to be self-reliant, that friendship and brotherly 
love should be active forces in men’s lives, 
that men and women should have freedom to 
develop and to prosper in this new country, and 
that there should be equal justice for all. 
As a result of these wise policies, this colony 
had no trouble with the Indians. Pennsylvania 
developed rapidly, and Philadelphia soon became 
the largest city in America and continued to be 
the largest until after the Revolutionary War. 
The people early learned to govern themselves, 
and later, when the king of England sought to 
deprive them of the same rights that citizens 


How the Pioneers Developed Self-Government 47 


of England possessed, their leaders, who had 
become great statesmen and lawgivers, joined 
with the patriots of Virginia, Massachusetts, 
and other colonies in working out our present 
form of government. 

Example of other colonies. The history of 
the United States tells how all the other colonies 
began and how they developed. They were 
somewhat similar to the three presented here. 
But the first great lesson that each had to learn 
was how to become self-governing—how to 
make the laws by which they wished to be 
governed, how to execute them, and how to 
train the people to become self-reliant and law- 
abiding. It was the rule for the colonists to 
have some form of charter or written agreement 
that set forth their rights and duties, and later, 
when the king of England violated those rights, 
he drove the people to set up an independent 
government. But now they wished to know their 
rights and duties under a national government. 
When, therefore, the time came for them to 
establish a national government to take the 
place of the English government, the repre¬ 
sentatives of the several states met and prepared 
another written agreement for all the states. 
This is the state constitution. 

But before the people had advanced 
sufficiently to work out a form of national 


4 8 


Our Dual Government 


government, they had to study the welfare of 
all the people—how to be serviceable to one 
another and how to cooperate in a large way 
for the benefit of all. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

Show that a literary society, or baseball game, or any 
other form of organized play must be conducted in 
accordance with rules and laws agreed upon by those who 
participate in the. contest. This is self-government. 
Suppose the players in a ball game observed no rules. 
What would be the elfect ? 

How did our state develop and how did the people 
learn to be self-governing? Did they have many diffi¬ 
culties ? When and how did our state establish its 
constitution? Was it before or after the national Con¬ 
stitution was adopted? What story can you give which 
will illustrate the evils resulting from the inability of a 
people to be self-governing? Why is good government in 
school necessary? In what ways do the pupils help in 
maintaining the laws of the school? What is the value of 
government ? 


CHAPTER V 


Service to Others: 

The Story of John Chapman 

The early pioneers developed a spirit of 
service. The early pioneers were not only 
self-reliant, but after learning how to govern 
themselves they developed a hospitality and a 
fine spirit of helpfulness unlike anything known 
in Europe. Settlers as a rule lived far apart, 
and naturally strangers were welcomed because 
they brought news from the other settlements 
or from Europe. After the colonies became 
self-governing, it was easy to secure food in 
abundance in those pioneering days. Therefore 
friends and even strangers might spend a few 
days or even a few weeks with the early pio¬ 
neers and no one thought of charging for board. 
Likewise, neighbors felt the necessity of render¬ 
ing service to friends without ever thinking of 
charging for their services. 

There were in the colonies men like Roger 
Williams, who worked for the welfare of the 
colonists that settled in Rhode Island; men 
like John Eliot, of Massachusetts, who lived as 
a missionary among the Indians, teaching them 


4 


49 


50 


Our Dual Government 


how to lead better lives; men like William 
Penn, who gave thousands of people settling 
in Pennsylvania and Delaware opportunities 
to become happy and prosperous; men like 
Edward Moseley, of North Carolina, who 
established public libraries for the benefit of 
the people; men like Francis Asbury, who 
traveled from Maine to Florida helping the 
people to establish schools for their children; 
and numbers of men who served the people, 
teaching them law and order and the principles 
of good government. 

Example of John Chapman. One of the most 
interesting stories of service is found in the life 
of John Chapman. It is a fine example of real 
service that contributed much to the general 
welfare of those people who settled in the Ohio 
Valley. Many other people had the same spirit, 
and this has helped to make our government so 
prosperous. 

Chapman’s early life. Little is known of 
the early life of this remarkable man. He was 
born in New England a few years before the 
outbreak of the Revolutionary War. When 
the Ohio Valley was opened for settlement many 
of his friends migrated "to this new country. 
Among them, it is said, was a young woman to 
whom he was engaged to be married. Accord¬ 
ing to the story, she, with her family, suffered 


John Chapman's Service to Others 51 

many hardships, and finally she died in the far 
Northwest. The story of their courtship is 
largely legendary, but it reminds one somewhat 
of the story of Evangeline. 

It is said that John Chapman traveled through 
the new country beyond the Alleghenies in 
1789, visiting the settlers in the Ohio Valley. 
They had no fruit trees, and he believed that 
the health of the people would be greatly 
improved if they had orchards to supply them 
with apples, peaches, pears, and plums, and 
vineyards to provide them with grapes. It was 
his opinion that the acid of fruits was a good 
medicine, and that for the lack of it many 
people died. 

When he returned to the East he told his 
friends, it is said, that the great need of the 
West was fruit, and it was his ambition to go 
ahead of the next settlers and plant the seed 
of fruits and berries, in order that the men and 
women who followed him to make their home 
in this new country might be healthier and 
happier and even more prosperous. 

How he served the West. Before beginning 
his great work he spent his winters teaching 
the children in the settlements near the Atlantic 
Coast. In those days a teacher did not have 
to pay for his board, for the neighbors boarded 
him free of charge. John Chapman therefore 


52 


Our Dual Government 


had little need of money. In fact, he did not 
ask for money. But he did ask the farmers to 
collect for him the seed of their best apples that 
he might carry large quantities of the seed to 
that far western country for the benefit of future 
settlers who might later locate in it. Although 
he believed the apple to be the most valuable 
fruit, he also collected the seed from peaches, 
pears, plums, and grapes. Some say that he 
was influenced to undertake this service for 
all new settlers that were to come after him 
because of the suffering of his sweetheart who 
had died in that new and undeveloped country. 

The farmers and their children saved their seed 
for him, for they were deeply interested in his 
plan. In the spring of 1790 he appeared on the 
Ohio River in a boat loaded with many bags of 
seed. At every suitable landing he took a bag 
on his back, trudged through the forest until he 
found a good open place, and there planted his 
seed. Then he built a fence of boughs around 
the place to keep the deer away, and started out 
again. 

Thus he traveled on and on through many 
springs and summers, planting his seed in that 
unsettled country. A few years afterward when 
the settlers from the East crossed the mountains 
into this new country, they found, to their great 
surprise, orchards and vineyards awaiting them. 


John Chapman's Service to Others 


53 


Within a few years many thousands of men, 
women, and children came down the Ohio 
River and settled in what is now Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, and Kentucky. They soon learned of 
John Chapman, because each year he visited 
his orchards, and if people had settled around 
them he taught them how to care for the trees. 
He was a familiar figure with his bag of seed, 
chiefly apple seed, and the inhabitants called 
him “Johnny Appleseed.” When he visited 
one of his orchards far out in a forest that formed 
no part of any settlement, he would dig around 
the trees, prune them, and fix his fence of boughs 
about them to protect them, and it is said that 
sometimes he would cut these words on a near-by 
tree: “ Take what you will, but guard the fence. ’* 
Other services rendered by him. John Chap¬ 
man was famous, not only because of the many 
orchards he had planted in the forest, but 
because he was perhaps one of the best scholars 
in the West. There were only a few people, 
comparatively speaking, among the new settlers 
who were competent to teach the children. 
Therefore during the winter months, when he 
could do little in the way of improving his 
orchards, he would gather the children together 
and teach them to read and write. He would 
toll them stories of their country and what 
people were doing in the great world beyond 


54 


Our Dual Government 


them. He collected books and papers and read 
to the parents as well as to the children. It is 
no wonder that men and women had great 
respect for him and that the children loved 
him; and when he made his visits to see how 
his orchards were being cared for, the children 
flocked around him and he was welcomed in 
every home. 

How the people cared for him. John Chap¬ 
man had passed middle life when one winter, 
going through the forest hunting for suitable 
places in which to plant his seed, he was taken 
sick and was lost in the forest. Some think he 
had an attack of malarial fever. Months later 
when he returned to the nearest settlement his 
clothes were gone and he was wrapped in his 
sacks and wore on his head an old, rusty tin 
pan. It is said he was dazed and out of his 
mind. Many people said he was crazy. But 
the settlers loved him so much that they took 
care of him until he regained his health and 
his mind became clear. As soon as he was able 
to work, he continued to collect seed and to 
explore other unsettled sections of the North¬ 
west and plant his orchards. He seemed to 
have only one desire, which was to make that 
great country a better place in which to live. 

Thus he became familiar to many families, 
and hundreds of children knew him. He was 


John Chapman's Service to Others 


55 


better known and loved perhaps than any 
other man in the Northwest. 

As he grew old he was stooped, and his hair 
was long and gray, but he continued his jour¬ 
neys, teaching the children, lecturing to the 
people on health and morals and the Christian 
life, and teaching them how to plant and care 
for their orchards. At the same time he con¬ 
tinued doing the things he felt would be of the 
most value to future generations that might 
settle in that great, fertile country; that is, 
planting new orchards and tending and pro¬ 
tecting them that others might have health 
and prosperity. The children now called this 
gray-haired, kindly old gentleman “Uncle 
Johnny Appleseed.” 

What they thought of him when he died. 

He died about 1837, and was buried near the 
present city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in one of 
his orchards under the shade of a beautiful 
apple tree. When his death became known 
there was perhaps more sorrow in the Ohio 
Valley than for the passing of any other man 
of his day. His story was told in Congress, 
and it was there declared that this old man 
had done more for the West than any other 
man of his era. Other prominent men have 
declared that this orchardist was “one of the 
most striking figures that the Republic has 


56 


Our Dual Government 


produced,” and later a sum of money was 
raised to erect a monument to him. One 



MONUMENT TO JOHN CHAPMANl 


writer said of him: “For forty years he had 
gone through the wilderness, planting trees and 
vines and making ready for the coming of 
pioneers and their children.Now that 

lErected at Mansfield, Ohio, in the year 1900. 






























John Chapman's Service to Others 57 

he has gone, I give his achievement and career 
a place among the great things of the Republic. 
In an era that produced great men, he stands 
forth among the greatest. He was such an 
one as could have been produced nowhere else 
save in this new world.” 

All the way from the state of Ohio to the 
Mississippi River his orchards were planted — 
hundreds of them. Many thousands of people 
have been benefited by his unselfish service. 
He made possible the apple and peach orchards 
of those interior states. We can only guess at 
the amount of suffering he endured, but he 
seemed to count that as nothing, living as he 
did in the thought that, when his work was 
ended, thousands of men, women, and children, 
even in his day, would profit by what he had 
done, and that many hundreds of thousands 
would be benefited in the generations after even 
his name should be forgotten. 

Long, long after , 1 

When settlers put up beam and rafter, 

They asked of the birds: “Who gave this fruit? 

Who watched this fence till the seeds took root? 

Who gave these boughs?” They asked the sky, 

And there was no reply. 

But the Robin might have said, 

“To the farthest West he has followed the sun, 

His life and his empire just begun.” 

Service to others became a duty of govern¬ 
ment. This desire to serve others was found in 

iFrom the poem “In Praise of Johnny Appleseed,” by Vachel Lindsay in 
Century Magazine. 



Our Dual Government 


58 

the lives of our people who settled this country 
long before John Chapman was born. The 
people wrote it in the Constitution—that the 
welfare of all the people was a chief concern 
of the new government—and it became a 
function of government to serve all the people. 
A good citizen of today, therefore, will consider 
the welfare of others. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
What man or woman in your community or your state 
in those early pioneering days showed some of the same 
unselfish spirit that John Chapman exhibited? What 
other man or woman in American history had the same 
spirit? Did Washington have it when he refused to be 
president a third time? Did Daniel Boone have it? 
Did Frances Willard have it? 

Can you name a man or woman of your acquaintance 
who has this spirit ? Who are some of the greatest men 
and women of this generation? Are they great because 
of this desire to serve others? 

Show the pupils that they will be exhibiting the same 
spirit of service to others if they plant trees and shrub¬ 
beries and flowers around their school buildings. 

Have we enough fruit trees around our homes? Was 
John Chapman right in saying the health of people 
improves when they eat more fruit ? How can the school 
encourage the children to plant more fruit trees and care 
for them? How many schools do you know that are 
teaching the children to care for the fruit, to produce 
more food that they may become more self-reliant and 
at the same time serve others? 


CHAPTER VI 


Learning to Cooperate: A Story of 
Benjamin Franklin 

Why cooperation became necessary. As the 

forests were cleared and the land became more 
thickly settled, the people could not continue 
to live as the early settlers had lived. Towns 
were forming, and a few cities, such as Boston, 
New York, and Philadelphia, were growing very 
fast, so that the people had to learn how to be 
helpful one to another; that is, how to cooperate. 
All good government depends on the coopera¬ 
tion of the people. How to be helpful one to 
another, therefore, is the first lesson in good 
government for any citizen to learn. We can¬ 
not have absolute liberty in a community 
inhabited by many people. This was possible 
only on the frontiers. But liberty may be 
maintained within the law if people will cooper¬ 
ate; and all people may be happy. 

The colonists were scattered along the coast 
from Maine to Florida. If anyone did not 
like the laws, he could move out into the forest 
many miles from the settlements and do as Tie 
pleased. He could follow the example of 


59 


6o 


Our Dual Government 


Robinson Crusoe. But those who remained 
and helped to build the towns and cities along 
the coast had to think of the rights of others. 
They had to give up a few of their liberties that 
all might have greater freedom. They had to 
consider their neighbors’ rights, the welfare of 
all, or they could not have a great nation. The 
welfare of one, therefore, depends in a very large 
measure upon the welfare of all. 

The example of Benjamin Franklin. The 
one man who did most to teach the people how 
to cooperate; that is, how to be mutually help¬ 
ful, was Benjamin Franklin. Early in life he 
became self-reliant; that is, he learned a trade 
by which he could support himself. This was 
the trade of a printer. He had attended 
school for a while, but after leaving school he 
felt that he did not know enough grammar, so 
he studied it at night until he learned how to 
write correctly, Later he published a paper 
which became famous. He also purchased 
many books in order that he might be well 
informed and be able to send information to 
others and cause them to desire to read his paper. 
This is the way he became self-reliant. 

If you wished to organize a club of any kind 
in school, and you expected all the members to 
work together m harmony, what one quality 
must all possess? Franklin said it was a 


Learning to Cooperate 


6 r 



From the original portrait by Joseph Siffrein 
Duplessis, in the museum of Fine Arts, Boston 


BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 






62 


Our Dual Government 


capacity for friendship. He was right. People 
are bound together by ties of friendship. One 
of the earliest resolves that Franklin made after 
he entered business for himself was to make 
friends. But friends are held together only 
when they are serviceable to one another. 

Friendship necessary for cooperation. It was 
Franklin’s desire to see the people themselves 
work out a good government in which all could 
take an intelligent part and cooperate on a 
friendly basis for the good of all. What is the 
secret of holding friends? This is the question 
that Franklin asked himself, and he answered 
it this way: “I grew convinced that truth, 
sincerity and integrity in dealings between man 
and man were of the utmost importance.’’ 
Then he asked himself if he possessed these 
qualities, and he answered: “I had a tolerable 
character to begin with; I valued it properly 
and determined to preserve it.” Then he 
declared that the friends he made were of great 
value to him. This made it possible for him 
to say: “They all continued their regard for 
me as long as they lived.” 

Franklin, therefore, had three qualities 
that are essential in creating a government of 
the people—self-reliance, helpfulness to others, 
and the power to make friends and bind them 
together so that they would cooperate with 


9 


Learning to Cooperate 63 

him in doing things for the improvement of 
all the people. 

Philadelphia before the Revolutionary War 
was very different from the Philadelphia of 
today. The people had not learned to cooperate 
in building a beautiful and healthful city. 
Since the laws governing the colonists had to 
be approved by the English government, the 
people did not always have full responsibility, 
or they were hindered in their efforts to create 
a good government. Therefore they were slow 
in developing the same self-reliance in govern¬ 
ment that they had developed in making a 
living. But they were learning, because they 
knew very well that England, situated three 
thousand miles away, could not know their 
needs and govern them wisely. But how did 
Franklin teach them? 

How the people learned to cooperate. One 

of the first things he did was to organize a club 
composed of a group of his friends. This club 
he called “The Junto.” One purpose of the 
club was to discuss politics; that is, the needs 
of the country and of the people. Another was 
to discuss morals; that is, how the people lived 
and how their conduct might be improved, for 
if Philadelphia were composed chiefly of bad 
men, it could not be a good city. Another 
purpose was to discuss the natural resources of 


64 


Our Dual Government 


the new country, in order that the people might 
be taught a better understanding of how to 
live and how to make a living. 

But how did Franklin teach the people to 
unite for the improvement of all? How could 
the people cooperate for their own improvement? 

There was no public library in his day. 
Therefore those who did not have money to 
purchase books had no way of providing them¬ 
selves with reading matter. Franklin found 
fifty persons who agreed to bring their own 
private books to a central room and then to 
pay a small sum yearly to purchase more books. 
In this way one person could enjoy all the books 
of the fifty. By cooperating, the people could 
greatly increase the culture of the city. This 
pleased them very much, because the library 
helped all who desired more knowledge to secure 
the best books published at that time. 

In those days towns or cities did not have 
fire departments such as we have today. The 
city had a watchman who made his rounds as a 
policeman does today, and when he saw a fire 
at night he roused the citizens, who hurried out 
to fight fire with such utensils as they might 
have at hand. Franklin organized a company 
of men who agreed “to keep always in good 
order and fit for use a certain number of leather 
buckets, with strong bags and baskets for 


Learning to Cooperate 


65 


packing and transferring goods, which were to 
be brought to every fire.” His company agreed 
to meet once a month for the purpose of discuss¬ 
ing the best methods of preventing fires. This 
was the beginning of the fire companies. The 
people were learning that cooperation was very 
helpful to them. 

Franklin was soon considered the most use¬ 
ful man in his community because he could 
organize the people and secure their help in 
promoting the good of the community. It was 
natural, therefore, that his friends should desire 
him to represent them in their assembly, where 
the laws were made. His ability to make 
friends, his knowledge of law and what laws 
were needed for the colonies, and his power to 
persuade the people to pass laws for the good 
of the colonies made him a great leader. 

There were not many public schools in 
Franklin’s day, and most families had to 
provide private teachers for their children. 
Franklin organized a group of citizens who 
agreed to provide a school for all the children, 
and the small amount paid by each made it 
possible to provide good education for many 
children. The people built and equipped a 
schoolhouse and supported the teachers, and 
this school became very famous. Thus by 
cooperating the people could secure much 


66 


Our Dual Government 


better schools at much less cost to each family. 
Our great public school system has been devel¬ 
oped since Franklin’s day. But it is based on 
the idea of the cooperation of all the people. 

In the same way Franklin organized the 
physicians and others of the community to 
provide a hospital where the sick might receive 
care. This was something new in America. 
He organized the citizens and showed them 
how to work together in keeping the streets 
clean and in providing better lights for the 
streets at night. The people were learning to 
govern themselves and to cooperate in such a 
way as to promote the welfare of all. 

The beginning of our postal system. In 
those days we did not have a great postal 
system such as we have today. There were 
mail carriers who went from city to city, but 
as a rule they did not leave with the mail 
until enough had accumulated to pay the cost 
of the trip. Franklin had shown such won¬ 
derful organizing ability that he was made 
postmaster general for all the colonies. He 
organized a great system, and opened mail 
routes from New England to Georgia, with a 
number of cross lines to the East and the 
West. Mail carriers made regular trips, and 
the people all over the colonies now could 
receive letters, newspapers, and books regularly. 


Learning to Cooperate 


67 


This made the newspapers prosper, and people 
of one colony could communicate more readily 
with people of other colonies. Such was the 
beginning of our great postal system which 
extends to every home in every state of the 
Union and to every city in Europe. When we 
now pay only two cents to send a letter from 
Florida to Maine, we do not realize that before 
Franklin’s day it would have cost many dollars. 
By working together, we enjoy at a very small 
cost many benefits that we could not have 
otherwise. And this gives the people more 
freedom. 

The proposed union of all the colonies. 

While Franklin was teaching the people to 
cooperate in these and many other ways, it 
became necessary for them to unite for the 
common defense. The French were settling in 
the Ohio Valley and seeking to take the land 
from the English and prohibit the colonists 
from building homes in this new country. The 
colonists were in great danger and their freedom 
was seriously threatened. 

Franklin was a great organizer. He drew 
up a plan to bind all the English colonies from 
Massachusetts to Georgia under one govern¬ 
ment. At that time each colony had a separate 
government of its own. The colonies were not 
united. This was the greatest cooperative plan 


68 


Our Dual Government 


ever presented to the people up to that time, 
and many were in favor of it. England desired 
the help of all the colonies because England and 
France were at war. This war is known in 
America as the French and Indian War. But 
England opposed the union of all the colonies 
under one government, probably because it was 
clear that such a union would make it difficult 
for England to control the different colonies 
after the war. Many of the colonists likewise 
opposed the union. But they were to learn 
soon that Franklin was very wise and that a 
more perfect union was necessary. This war, 
however, did teach the colonies to unite for 
common defense. They learned to cooperate 
in a large way and to understand one another 
better. 

The need of union. After the French and 
Indian War, the colonies developed very rap’dly, 
and the laws made in England were becoming 
more and more objectionable. The colonists 
were not given the same rights that Englishmen 
had in the mother country. The newspapers 
in all the colonies discussed the injustice. 
The people met in their clubs and bitterly 
denounced the laws. Finally the people began 
to resist them, and soon war broke out between 
the colonies and England. This was the Revo¬ 
lutionary War. 



Learning to Cooperate 69 

At last the colonies had to unite. A plan 
similar to the one that Franklin proposed at 
the beginning of the French and Indian War, 
was now adopted. A Continental Congress, 
composed of representatives from all the colo¬ 
nies, was created in 1774, and in Philadelphia, 
July 4, 1776, the colonists declared themselves 
free and independent of England. All the 
colonies at last had united to secure their inde¬ 
pendence from the mother country. 

Franklin’s last great services. The colonies 
needed help. They needed friends. Franklin, 


FRANKLIN BEFORE THE COURT OF FRANCE 

because of his capacity for making friends, was 
sent to France to persuade that nation to aid 




70 Our Dual Government 

the colonies in securing their freedom from 
England. He set sail for France at once, and 
no American has ever been more popular with 
the people of a foreign nation. The newspapers 
delighted to print his maxims and wise sayings. 
Men of science did him honor. No nobleman’s 
garden was complete until a liberty tree had 
been planted in it by the hand of this great 
man. When he walked the streets of Paris 
the people followed him in crowds. Franklin’s 
picture hung in the window of every print 
shop and over the fireplace in hundreds of 
homes. Such was the popularity of this great 
man. He won the aid of France and secured 
money and troops, and the colonists won their 
independence. 

He returned home with great honor. But 
the greatest service to his country still lay 
before him. The thirteen colonies were next 
compelled to work out a form of government 
that would promote the general welfare of all 
and at the same time be strong enough to 
defend itself against its enemies. It must be 
founded upon a union of all the colonies, but 
based on the cooperation of all, in order that 
justice to each and all might be preserved. 
Benjamin Franklin was one of the great 
leaders who helped to work out this new 
government. 


Learning to Cooperate 


7i 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
It should be made clear to pupils that self-reliance, 
service to others, and cooperation are essential to success¬ 
ful living. A very forceful lesson may be presented by 
having the pupils show how these qualities are exhibited 
in their games and societies. There are men and women 
in every community who are very useful because they 
possess these qualities to a high degree. 

The following questions may serve to arouse interest: 
What man or men in our state taught the people how 
to cooperate? How is our public school system of today 
the result of cooperation? Why is obedience to law an 
act of cooperation? How can pupils cooperate with the 
town or county officers in establishing a beautiful, health¬ 
ful, intelligent community? How many pupils in school 
are developing self-reliance, helpfulness to others, and the 
capacity to make friends? 


CHAPTER VII 


Origin of Government by Constitution 

Government by written agreements. After 
the thirteen colonies had declared themselves 
free and independent, and after independence 
had been won following a long war, delegates 
from the several states met and decided upon 
a form of government that would unite all the 
states into one nation. When the form of this 
new government had been agreed upon, it was 
carefully written out, and the delegates present 
signed it. Then each state, after discussing it 
at length, adopted it. The story of how it was 
adopted is told in Chapter XII. 

This written form of government is the 
Constitution of the United States. It is the 
supreme law of the land today because our 
national government derives all of its powers 
from it. But this is not the first time the 
people of America have been governed through 
a written agreement. It will be recalled that 
the London Company, that sent out the James¬ 
town colony, held a written charter from the 
king; the Pilgrims of Massachusetts adopted 
a written agreement called the “ Mayflower” 


72 


Origin of Government by Constitution 


73 


Compact; and William Penn, Lord Baltimore, 
and others held charters from the king. Much 
of the trouble that the colonists had with the 
mother country came from the fact that the 
kings did not keep their agreements. But the 
history of these written agreements, or charters, 
is much older than the London Company. 
The English people themselves had from time 
to time compelled their kings to enter into a 
form of contract, or written agreement, with 
them. 

Even before America was settled, the kings 
of England sometimes wished to have no law 
except that which they made. They did not 
want the people, who worked and made the 
country prosperous, to have any voice in saying 
by what kind of laws they should be governed. 
If this had been allowed, it is easy to see that a 
bad king might make laws that would be hurtful 
to the people. A bad ruler can cause great harm 
to come to the people. Even one bad man 
who has much influence can do a good cause 
great harm. Our ancestors have given us many 
examples of this. That is why we should be 
very careful today to select good men to hold 
office. Occasionally there were bad kings in 
England, and one of the worst lived about four 
hundred years before the first settlement was 
made at Jamestown. This was King John. 


74 


Our Dual Government 


Origin of the Great Charter. King John is 
known in history as one of the worst rulers 
that any country has ever had. As a boy he 
was cruel and mean and did not hesitate to 
insult the best men in England. He had been 
a traitor to his brother, who was king before 
him, and sought to have him dethroned. Many 
people thought he had his nephew put to 
death. He abandoned his wife and made her 
life miserable. When he became king the 
people saw that he would not regard the laws 
of the country or respect the customs that had 
been followed for many years. They saw that 
he would not hesitate to tax them and to take 
their property if he wanted it. Whenever he 
disliked a man he did not hesitate to have him 
put into prison, and sometimes he put men to 
death without even giving them a trial to deter¬ 
mine whether they were guilty or innocent. 
So the leading men of England, the barons and 
the bishops, came together in a great meeting 
to consider what they could do. This made 
King John angry, and he tried to raise an army 
to fight them, but he saw that nearly all the 
leading men of England were against him. 
Then he decided to treat! with the leaders. 
He had to do this in order to continue as king. 

A great meeting was held at Runnymede on 
the banks of the river Thames, near London, 
June 15, 1215. There an important contract 


Origin of Government by Constitution 


75 


was entered into between the king and the 
leading citizens of England. This is the first 
written agreement between the king of England 
and the people. This agreement is called the 
Great Charter, or Magna Carta. 

What is Magna Carta? It is the great 
charter of principles by which both king and 
people were to be governed. It contains sixty- 
three articles, or principles, most of which, 
owing to changes in manner of living, are not 
especially important today. But three of these 
articles form the basis of our government. 
They are as follows: 

1. Justice shall not be denied any citizen, 
nor shall justice be sold. 

2. No man shall be deprived of his liberty 
or property, except upon the judgment of his 
equals or by the law of the land. 

3. No taxes, except the customary ones, can 
be levied by anyone without the consent of 
the lawmaking body, the National Council. 

This Great Charter was signed by the king 
and the leading men of England more than 
seven hundred years ago. And since that time 
the people of England have been trying to 
improve their government, so that it may be 
fair to all. King John, of course, was very 
angry because he had to sign this charter, but 
he knew that he could not remain king unless 
he did sign it. 


76 


Our Dual Government 


Origin of the Petition of Rights. Many 
years later another king, Charles I, began to 
break the laws and customs of the people, and 
all England was in much confusion. This was 
more than two hundred years after King John’s 
time. In the meantime Parliament, the law¬ 
making body of England, had grown consider¬ 
ably more powerful and the government in the 
interest of the people had greatly improved. 
King Charles wished to rule without Parliament. 
Like King John, he wished to make the laws 
and interpret them to suit himself. The people’s 
property was taken from them without their 
consent, and good men were thrown into prison 
without a fair trial. Armies were raised with¬ 
out the consent of the people. It began to 
appear that all the rights of Englishmen were 
to be taken from them, even those rights 
guaranteed by Magna Carta. Therefore, in 
1628, Parliament, composed of the represen¬ 
tatives of the people, drew up a great petition, 
known as the Petition of Rights, and presented 
it to the king for him to sign. This would 
restore the rights of the people. 

What the great petition contained. This 
petition made the following important requests 
. of the king: 

1. To cease taking the people’s property or 
taxing them without the consent of Parliament. 


Origin of Government by Constitution 77 

2. To cease quartering soldiers in private 
houses and imprisoning citizens without the 
right legal process. 

3. To cease suspending the courts and fair 
trial and substituting in their place rule by 
military authority. 

4. To provide for punishment in the proper 
way; that is, after the accused had been fairly 
convicted by a fair court. 

5. To cease imprisoning people without hav¬ 
ing the charges against them made public and 
fully considered by a competent court. 

It is easy to see that after two hundred years 
King Charles was guilty of some of the same 
injustice of which King John had been gu’lty. 
King Charles did not intend to grant this peti¬ 
tion. But he saw that Parliament would stand 
by its demands. Therefore he signed it. This 
is the second great written charter of the English 
people. King Charles, however, thought' he 
could ignore the petition even after he had 
agreed to it. This caused civil war in England, 
and the king was captured, tried by Parliament, 
convicted of high crimes against the people of 
England, and sentenced to death. He was exe¬ 
cuted in 1648. This is the first king of England 
who was ever tried, convicted, and put to death. 

Origin of the Declaration of Rights. Later 
Charles’s son, King James II, came to the throne. 


78 


Our Dual Government 


He thought the people were sorry for having 
executed his father and that he might do just 
about as he pleased. But he misunderstood the 
temper of the people. Parliament informed him 
that his conduct would not be tolerated. There¬ 
fore he was asked to resign, and William of 
Orange, who had married James’s daughter, 
was invited to come to England and be king. 

William landed with an army. The leading 
men of England flocked to him. The king’s 
army, broken by dissensions, deserted him. 
Even his own children forsook him, and he cried: 
“God help me, for my own children have 
forsaken me!” He escaped to France. The 
kings of England gradually learned that the 
will of the people is the highest law in the land. 

William of Orange had struggled long to 
preserve the freedom of his own people in 
Holland. When he arrived, Parliament declared 
that King James, “having endeavored to sub¬ 
vert the constitution of his Kingdom by break¬ 
ing the original contract between King and 
people, and having withdrawn himself from the 
Kingdom, has abdicated the Government, and 
his throne is thereby vacant.” This was in 
1688. It was then voted that William and 
Mary should be joint sovereigns, but that the 
actual administration should rest with William. 

What the Declaration of Rights contains. 
Parliament drew up a Declaration of Rights 


Origin of Government by Constitution 79 

for William and Mary to sign. It contains the 
following principles: 

1. It resolved that Parliament, the legisla¬ 
tive body, had the right to protect the liberties 
of the English people. 

2. It denied the right of any king to suspend 
the laws, exact money, or levy taxes, save by 
consent of Parliament. 

3. It asserted that any one had the free 
right to petition the king or Parliament at any 
time. 

4. It asserted the right of the people to elect 
representatives to Parliament and to demand a 
fair administration of justice. 

5. It declared the right to debate any ques¬ 
tion in Parliament. 

6. It demanded security for the free exercise 
of their religion by all Protestants, and the 
right to maintain the Protestant religion as 
the law of the realm. 

William accepted the offer of the crown in 
his own and in his wife’s name and declared in 
a few words the resolve of both to maintain 
the laws and to govern by advice of Parliament. 
This is the third great written agreement where¬ 
by the people of England sought to maintain 
their freedom. 

The Declaration of Independence. By degrees 
the people of England won the right to make 
their own laws. But the rulers of England 


8o 


Our Dual Government 



From the painting by F. tJ. Mayer, in me Ulci (senate Onauiuer, .ttmiapolis 


THE BURNING OF THE “PEGGY STEWART” AT ANNAPOLIS 

were not willing to permit the colonists in 
America to have the same rights. The history 
of each of the thirteen colonies preserves many 








Origin of Government by Constitution 81 

instances of conflict between the governor sent 
over to the colony and the people. 

Nearly a hundred years after William and 
Mary came to the throne in England, another 
ruler, George III, became king. Now the people 
in America demanded the same rights that the 
people of England had, and many true English¬ 
men supported them. But George III did not 
profit by the experience of the past. He was 
guilty of some of the same offenses against the 
American people that Charles and James had 
been guilty of against Englishmen. But the 
Americans were three thousand miles away 
from England. Therefore, instead of compel¬ 
ling George III to sign another Declaration of 
Rights, they resolved that George III should no 
longer be their ruler, and they declared them¬ 
selves free and independent of Great Britain. 
The result was the Declaration of Independence. 
It is given in full in the next chapter. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

Compare the grievances set forth in the Declaration 
of Independence with those against which the English 
people had fought in the past, as expressed in Magna 
Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the Declaration of 
Rights. Tell the pupils the story of how the Declara¬ 
tion of Independence was adopted July 4, 1776, and the 
meaning of Independence Hall to the people of America. 



SIGNING THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 




CHAPTER VIII 


The Declaration of Independence 

The Declaration of Independence is the fourth 
great liberty document of the English-speaking 
people. The Americans were not alone in their 
efforts to break the tyranny of King George. 
Some of the greatest statesmen of Great Britain 
justified the acts of the Americans in resisting 
the tyranny of the king even as their predeces¬ 
sors had opposed the acts of the kings James 
and Charles and John. And the English people 
today look upon the Declaration of Independ¬ 
ence as a liberty document that has been bene¬ 
ficial even to the government of Great Britain in 
that it taught England its first lesson in govern¬ 
ing of its colonies in other parts of the globe. 

This important document is divided into two 
parts, as follows: 

1. The first part sets forth a declaration of 
principles in which certain inalienable rights are 
defined and a justification is given for declaring 
the colonies free of the English government. 

2. The second part gives a list of grievances 
against King George III. It is a serious indict¬ 
ment of the king’s conduct and is given as proof 
that the colonies ought to be free. 

83 


8 4 


Our Dual Government 


The Declaration of Independence 1 

By the Representatives of the United States of America , in 
Congress Assembled, July 4, 1776 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary 
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con¬ 
nected them with another, and to assume, among the powers 
of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws 
of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect 
to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare 
the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are 
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with 
certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, 
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just 
powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever 
any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, 
it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to 
institute a new government, laying its foundation on such 
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them 
shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. 
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long estab¬ 
lished should not be changed for light and transient causes; 
and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind 
are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than 
to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they 
are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpa¬ 
tions, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design 
to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it 
is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide 
new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient 
sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity which 
constrains them to alter their former systems of government. 
The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of 
repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object 


1 The use of capitals, the punctuation, and the paragraphing are all modern. 



The Declaration of Independence 85 

the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. 
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world: 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and 
necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate 
and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation 
till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he 
has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation 
of large districts of people, unless those people would relin¬ 
quish the right of representation in the legislature—a right 
inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the despository of their public 
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance 
with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for 
opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of 
the people. 

He has refused, for a long time, after such dissolutions, 
to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, 
incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at 
large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the meantime, 
exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and con¬ 
vulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; 
for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of for¬ 
eigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration 
hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing 
his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure 
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their sub¬ 
stance. 


86 


Our Dual Government 


He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, 
without the consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
superior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction 
foreign to our Constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation. 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for 
any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of 
these states. 

For cutting off our trade wijh all parts of the world. 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent. 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by 
jury. 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
offenses. 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neigh¬ 
boring province, establishing therein an arbitrary govern¬ 
ment, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once 
an example and fit instrument for introducing the same 
absolute rule into these colonies. 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments. 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring them¬ 
selves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases what¬ 
soever. 

He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of 
his protection and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our 
towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign 
mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and 
tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and 
perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and 
totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on 


The Declaration of Independence 87 

the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become 
the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall them¬ 
selves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has 
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the 
merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an 
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for 
redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have 
been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose 
character is thus marked by every act which may define a 
tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British breth¬ 
ren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts 
by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction 
over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our 
emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their 
native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, 
by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpa¬ 
tions, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and 
correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of 
justice and consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in 
the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, 
as we hold the rest of mankind—enemies in war; in peace, 
friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
America, in general Congress assembled, appealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, 
do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of 
these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United 
Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 
states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British 
crown, and that all political connection between them and the 
state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; 
and that, as free and independent states, they have full power 
to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish com¬ 
merce, and to do all other acts and things which independent 


88 


Our Dual Government 


states may of right do. And, for the support, of this declara¬ 
tion, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, 
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our 
sacred honor. 



New Hampshire 

Josiah Bartlett 
William Whipple 
Matthew Thornton 

Massachusetts Bay 

Samuel Adams 
John Adams 
Robert Treat Paine 
Elbridge Gerry 

Rhode Island 

Stephen Hopkins 
William Ellery 

Connecticut 

Roger Sherman 
Samuel Huntington 
William Williams 
Oliver Wolcott 

New York 

William Floyd 
Philip Livingston 
Francis Lewis 
Lewis Morris 


New Jersey 

Richard Stockton 
John Witherspoon 
Francis Hopkinson 
John Hart 
Abraham Clark 

Pennsylvania 
Robert Morris 
Benjamin Rush 
Benjamin Franklin 
John Morton 
George Clymer 
James Smith 
George Taylor 
James Wilson 
George Ross 

Delaware 
Caesar Rodney 
George Read 
Thomas M’Kean 

Maryland 
Samuel Chase 
William Paca 
Thomas Stone 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton 




The Declaration of Independence 


89 


Virginia 
George Wythe 
Richard Henry Lee 
Thomas Jefferson 
Benjamin Harrison 
Thomas Nelson, Jun. 
Francis Lightfoot Lee 
Carter Braxton 

North Carolina 
William Hooper 
Joseph Hewes 
John Penn 


South Carolina 
Edward Rutledge 
Thomas Heyward, Jun. 
Thomas Lynch, Jun. 
Arthur Middleton 

Georgia 

Button Gwinnett 
Lyman Hall 
George Walton 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
These self-evident truths are given in the Declaration 
of Independence: They are ( 1 ) “that all men are created 
equal,” not equal in talents, or in wealth, or in size, but 
equal as to rights under the law or as to opportunities 
within the government, and no one is entitled to receive 
from the government more than another; (2) that all 
are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”; 
and ( 3 ) that the people have the right to abolish a govern¬ 
ment that fails to recognize these principles. How were 
these principles ignored? 


CHAPTER IX 


How a New Government Was Created 

Based on patriotism. The greatest achieve¬ 
ment of the American people was not the 
winning of the war. Other people have won 
independence, and yet they did not achieve 
greatness afterward. But after our independ¬ 
ence was won, the people, through their 
representatives, performed an act which has 
been declared by eminent men of every country 
to be the greatest achievement of any nation 
in all history; that is, they created an entirely 
new national government, based on the idea 
that the people themselves are capable of 
governing themselves, and demonstrated it to 
the world. This great accomplishment would 
not have been possible if the people had not 
first learned from long, bitter experience how 
to govern themselves. 

The people of Mexico won their independence 
from Spain a few decades after the thirteen 
colonies had become independent. But the 
government of Mexico has been poor. The 
people as a whole have not prospered, and the 
nation is one of the most backward of the world. 


90 


How a New Government Was Created 


9i 


The people did not learn the value of law and 
order and self-government. What has caused 
the difference? It is due in a large measure 
to the kind of government established by each 
nation. The great American government grew 
out of the patriotism of the American people. 

What is patriotism? It is devotion to the 
welfare of one’s country. If we are to under¬ 
stand how the American government was formed 
it is necessary to study the patriotism of the 
men who were responsible for its beginning. 
The greatest of these was George Washington. 

Our greatest patriot. Every American should 
be familiar with the life of George Washington— 
the story of his boyhood; his adventures as a 
surveyor in the wilderness of Virginia; how he 
carried the message of the governor of Virginia 
to the French, who had settled in the Ohio 
Valley; how he crossed the Ohio River and the 
dangers he encountered; the manner in which 
he came to the aid of General Braddock at the 
opening of the French and Indian War, and how 
he saved the General from total defeat in the 
fight for Fort Duquesne; how he spoke against 
the Stamp Act and suggested the Continental 
Congress; how he was elected commander in 
chief of the American army, and his journey to 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he received 
his commission under the elm which bore his 









How a New Government Was Created 93 

name until October, 1923, when it was taken 
down;' the hardships he endured; the courage 
he exhibited; and the success that came to his 
army when Cornwallis finally surrendered at 
Yorktown, October 18, 1781. It was one thing 
to secure independence but another and a very 
different thing to create a new government out 
of the thirteen colonies. 

Washington’s birthday. So grateful were 
the people for his distinguished services as* 
commander of the American forces, that on 
February 22, 1783, a number of gentlemen met 
in New York to celebrate his birthday. Some 
had written poems, others had prepared speeches 
which told of his great services, and they agreed 
to assemble in the future on the twenty-second 
of February and celebrate his birthday. This 
was a little more than a year after the surrender 
of the British at Yorktown. Soon N it became 
general throughout the country to celebrate 
Washington’s birthday. One writer says: 
“Wherever a score of houses were gathered 
together, a few hours, at least, were gladly 
given to festivity and joy. The fisherman 
forgot his nets, the workman laid aside his 
tools, the housewife forgot her needle in her 
work, the shopkeeper put up the shutters of 
his window, and the master on that day kept 
no school. Every theater brought out some 


94 


Our Dual Government 


play fitting to the hour, and was gay with 
emblems and flags; and every tavern spread 
its best cheer.” 

But while groups of people in different sec¬ 
tions of the country were celebrating the birth¬ 
day of George Washington because he had led 
them through the war to independence, the 
people were almost as much dissatisfied with 
their government as they had been with the 
English government, and some thought they 
had made a mistake ever to separate from 
England. But what kind of government did 
they now have? 

The Continental Congress. It will be remem¬ 
bered that Franklin had seen the need of all 
the colonies coming together under one govern¬ 
ment during the French and Indian War. 
When trouble began to brew and the people 
were expressing their opposition to the acts of 
King George, Franklin again advised the colo¬ 
nies to form a general congress. This was in 
1 783. George Washington was a great advocate 
of it also, and largely through his influence the 
first Continental Congress met in Carpenters’ 
Hall, Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. The 
colonies had at last learned to act together. 

Immediately after independence was declared, 
the Congress sought to work out a form of 
government for all the colonies. The work 


How a New Government Was Created 


95 



CARPENTERS’ HALL 

was begun in 1776, but the new form was not 
finally adopted until March* 1781, just before 
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. It is 
called the Articles of Confederation, which was 
the form of government in existence when 
Washington returned home after a long war 











96 


Our Dual Government 


covering more than seven years. But the 
Articles of Confederation did not give a safe 
government. 

The Articles of Confederation. This new 
form of government for all the states provided 
for a central congress, to be composed of 
representatives of all the states. The states, 
being independent, were not willing that the 
Continental Congress should have much power. 
But it was given many duties, such as making 
treaties with European countries, borrowing 
money with which to pay the debts incurred 
during the war, levying taxes for the support 
of the new government, building a navy for 
the protection of our co,ast, issuing currency, 
and doing many other things “for the common 
good.” All the thirteen states had equal voting 
power. 

Why the Articles of Confederation were 
unsatisfactory. Although the new government 
had many duties to perform, it had no power 
to collect taxes or to enforce obedience to the 
laws that it passed, or to perform many of the 
duties imposed upon it by the Articles of 
Confederation. Why was Congress so power¬ 
less? One of the articles adopted declared that 
“each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and 
independence.” When the Revolutionary War 
ended, we had no president, no senate, no 


How a New Government Was Created 


97 


supreme court, and no central authority that 
could command the respect of foreign countries. 
As a result, most of the European countries 
believed that within a few years the new govern¬ 
ment would fail and some monarchy of Europe 
would again take the thirteen states and govern 
them. 

The new government under the Articles of 
Confederation had not been in operation a 
year before it appeared that these European 
countries might be right. One day in March, 
1783, a letter came to Washington telling him 
that his soldiers were planning to overthrow 
the government; it was so weak the old soldiers 
were disgusted w.'th it. But during this most 
critical period Washington’s patriotism shone 
brightest. His devotion to the public welfare 
makes him one of the greatest men in all 
history. He at once called all of his old officers 
together. Being a very poor speaker, he wrote 
his address. He was unable to read it, how¬ 
ever, without his glasses, and as he put them on, 
he said: “Gentlemen, you will permit me to 
put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown 
gray, but almost blind in the service of my 
country.” 

He then made a touching appeal to them to 
respect the nation that had just won its inde¬ 
pendence. The sight of their old commander 


7 


9« 


Our Dual Government 


softened their hearts and they returned home. 
Why had they been so angry? They had not 
been paid what had been promised them as 
soldiers. The new nation needed eight million 
dollars to pay its necessary expenses, but it 
had no way to raise the money. It could not 
even secure the respect of foreign countries. 
Even the people of the several states had little 
confidence in it. One state taxed the goods 
shipped in from other states. Another state 
tried to control vessels going up rivers that ran 
through several states. In many ways the 
citizens of one state were growing to hate the 
citizens of another state, and jealousy was 
causing much trouble. Congress had no power 
to suppress disorder, and sometimes the states 
could not. Moreover, ill feeling developed over 
the question as to which state had the right to 
the new lands west of the mountains. There 
were many other troublesome questions that 
affected the freedom of the people and disturbed 
the security of the new republic, and under the 
Articles of Confederation there seemed to be no 
way to avoid these difficulties. 

The first Constitutional Convention. If 
Washington was great during the war, he was 
even greater during this critical period. He saw 
the need of a new form of government unlike 
the governments in Europe and much better 


How a New Government Was Created 


99 


than that provided by the Articles of Confedera¬ 
tion. He wrote to a friend: “From the high 
ground on which we stood, we are descending 
into the vale of confusion and darkness.” 

To another friend he wrote: “I have beheld 
no day since the commencement of hostilities 
that I thought our liberties in such imminent 
danger as at present.” 

He wrote so much about the needs of the new 
nation that in 1785 commissions from Virginia 
and Maryland visited him at Mount Vernon. 
After conferring for some time, they concluded 
that a conference of all the states should be held 
to discuss how far the states themselves could 
agree on certain very important matters. Ser¬ 
vice to others, the cooperation of all — it was now 
time to bring these great qualities into play! 
The conference was called to meet in Annapolis 
in 1786. The discussion during that conference 
showed the necessity of creating a new govern¬ 
ment. Then another convention was called 
to meet in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the 
Articles of Confederation. All the states except 
Rhode Island sent delegates to this body, which 
is known in history as the first Constitutional 
Convention. It met in Philadelphia on May 29 
and continued in session about four months. 
George Washington was the president of the 
Convention, and Benjamin Franklin, who had 


IOO 


Our Dual Government 


exhibited more wisdom in leading the people to 
cooperate in times of peace than any other man 
in the colonies, was one of its most influential 
members. 

It was very apparent to the representatives 
present that they must work out a strong 
national government suitable to the needs of this 
new country, or they could not have a great 
nation. Were the people of Europe right? 
Would it be impossible to work out such a 
government, and did only the kings and parlia¬ 
ments of Europe know how to govern? The 
greatest governments in the world at that time 
were in Europe. The chief ruler of each was a 
king, who had great power. The chief law¬ 
makers as a rule were the nobles. The few 
wealthy and powerful men of the countries, 
together with the king, governed the people. 
The great majority of the people had little voice 
in the government, and their rights to life, 
liberty, and happiness were frequently not 
protected. The men who met to perform the 
great task of working out a national government 
for America had the European form to guide 
them, but they knew such a form, called the 
monarchical form, because it had a king or 
emperor as the chief executive, would not suit 
our people. This was the form of government 
that prevailed in Europe at that time. But the 


How a New Government Was Created 


IOI 


success of the American government created 
by this Constitutional Convention has affected 
every European nation, and today only a few 
governments in the world maintain the old 
monarchical form. 

Did you ever try to create something when 
you had no complete pattern or standard to 
guide you? You know how difficult it is. 
Well, this was just the difficulty confronting 
these delegates. But who were these delegates 
to whom was intrusted such an important duty? 

Who composed the Convention. The Con¬ 
vention was composed of a most remarkable 
body of men. Every state had sent as her 
delegates some one famous as a statesman or 
a soldier, some one who had accomplished some¬ 
thing worth while and of whose services in the 
cause of freedom she was justly proud. Some 
had been members of the Stamp Act Congress 
of 1765. Some had signed their names to 
the Declaration of Independence when it was 
adopted. Some had supplied the money for 
raising our army and had marched away with 
their soldiers to fight under Washington, as 
brave and skillful officers. Some had been 
governors of states. Some were famous scholars 
and were well known in Europe. Some were 
famous jurists whose knowledge of constitutional 
law was not inferior to that of the best jurists 


102 


Our Dual Government 


in Europe. Some had been pioneers and under¬ 
stood the rough, hard life of the settlers, and 
some were ministers who believed in religious 
liberty. Such a body of men was competent 
for the task imposed upon it. The new govern¬ 
ment should be created out of the spirit of the 
people and should provide equal justice and 
opportunity for all. For in the Declaration of 
Independence it was declared that all men 
have certain inalienable rights—life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness. And to main¬ 
tain these principles they fought and won their 
independence. And now they had met to 
create a new nation that would guard and 
maintain those rights. 

Washington’s influence. The country owps 
more to George Washington, the patriotic 
soldier and statesman, than to any other man. 
His noble and unselfish life had the greatest 
influence on the delegates assembled. While 
they were waiting for all the delegates to 
assemble, Washington said to a small group 
present: ‘‘If, to please the people, we offer 
what we ourselves disapprove, how can we 
afterward defend our work? Let us raise a 
standard to which the wise and honest can 
repair. The event is in the hands of God.” 

As soon as delegates from nine states had 
arrived, this celebrated Convention was called 



How a New Government Was Created 103 

to order on May 29, 1787, and Washington 
was unanimously elected its presiding officer. 
The delegates then began their great task of 
working out a new government. All their 
meetings were held in secret, and no news of 
what they were doing could be given to the 
public. 

Franklin’s influence. For five weeks the 
delegates discussed different proposals. At 


. From a photograph of the painting by Heory Bacon 

SCENE IN FRANKLIN’S LATER LIFE 

times the men became very angry, and in the 
midst of a very heated discussion they were 
about to adjourn and to abandon the great 
purpose for which they had met. It seemed 
that they would be unable to agree. It was 
then that wise old Benjamin Franklin arose and 




104 


Our Dual Government 


addressing George Washington, the president, 
spoke as follows: 

I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the 
more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs 
in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the 
ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can 
rise without His aid? We have been assured, sir, in the Sacred 
Writings, that “except the Lord build the house, they labor 
in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this, and I also believe 
that without Hfis concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political 
building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided 
by our little, partial, local interests, our projects will be con¬ 
founded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a 
by-word down to future ages. And, what is worse, mankind 
may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of estab¬ 
lishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, 
war, and conquest. I, therefore, beg leave to move: 

That henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven 
and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly 
every morning before we proceed to business, and that one 
or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in 
that service. 

The task completed. Some of the delegates 
had gone home. But those that remained took 
courage; and that distinguished body of men 
taught the world a great lesson. Their devo¬ 
tion to the welfare of all the people caused them 
to lay aside their differences. All quarrelings 
ceased, and they gave to all succeeding genera¬ 
tions a sublime example of cooperation. 

For nearly four months they worked in secret. 
Then on Monday, September 17, the Conven- 


How a New Government Was Created 105 

tion assembled for the last time. The Consti¬ 
tution as we have it, without its amendments, 
was completed and laid upon the table for the 
delegates to sign. Twelve states were repre¬ 
sented. Washington was the first to sign. 
When he had written his name, the other mem¬ 
bers, thirty-eight in all, went up one by one, in 
the geographical order of the states, beginning 
with Massachusetts. As the last members were 
affixing their names, Franklin, looking toward 
the President’s chair, at the back of which 
a rising sun happened to be painted, said that 
painters had found it difficult to distinguish in 
their art a rising from a setting sun. “I have,” 
said he, “often and often, ill the course of the 
session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and 
fears as to its issue, looked at that [painting] be¬ 
hind the President without being able to tell 
whether it was rising or setting; but now, at 
length, I have the happiness to know that it 
is a rising, and not a setting, sun.” 

The Bill of Rights. After the Constitution 
was adopted and the new government was 
put into operation, it was discovered that the 
Constitution needed certain amendments. In 
fact, two of the states would not accept it 
until these amendments were added. These 
states were North Carolina and Rhode Island. 

A remarkable government had been planned, 


io6 


Our Dual Government 


but it was believed that the rights of the people 
were not sufficiently protected. Thomas Jeffer¬ 
son, the author of the Declaration of Independ¬ 
ence, was serving his country as minister to 
France when the Constitution was written. But 
when he saw it, he insisted that a Bill of Rights 
safeguarding the liberty of the people should 
be added. As a result largely of his labors the 
first ten amendments were added. They were 
adopted in 1791, and are known today as the 
Bill of Rights. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
The Constitution is given in Chapter XI. Read the Bill 
of Rights. The first ten Articles under the head of 
Amendments, called the Bill of Rights, are found on pages 
i 35~ i 36. Compare the Constitution with the Articles of 
Confederation. What is the great difference between 
them? Why are the first ten amendments called the Bill 
of Rights? What rights of the people do they protect? 


CHAPTER X 


Our Government 

Why a dual government is necessary. It 

was said in the first chapter that every citizen 
of the United States is under two governments — 
the state and the national—and that the two 
have been working together and each has been 
performing its own proper functions for more 
than a hundred years. 

We have seen how the national government 
was born after independence was won. How 
then did we derive our state government? This 
had its origin in the first government established 
when the colony was organized. When the 
people of each colony were learning self-reliance 
and self-government, they were laying the foun¬ 
dation of the state government of today. For 
example, the state of Virginia of today is the 
outgrowth of the Jamestown colony and the 
local government created in 1619. 

When independence was declared, there were 
thirteen different governments in as many 
colonies, and each was then promoting the 
welfare of its people. Immediately after inde¬ 
pendence was declared each colony became a 
107 


io8 


Our Dual Government 



INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA 

state. It retained its same government with a 
few important changes. Each had to provide 
for the selection of its governor and other 
officials that h&d been appointed by the king 






Our Government 


109 


or the king’s agent. But this was easily done 
by an act of the legislative body, and life con¬ 
tinued. without much friction, because the people 
were now in full control of their own government. 

During the Revolutionary War, therefore, 
each state was well organized. The people of 
each had developed the power to govern them¬ 
selves, and it was this that made each state 
very slow to consent to the establishment of a 
national government that might become superior 
to that of the states. They had won their 
freedom at a great cost and they did not desire 
to surrender it to a higher power. But, as we 
have already seen, the individual state was not 
sufficiently strong to protect its people against 
the more powerful nations, and even the states 
themselves were not able to settle disputes 
between people of two or more states. A union 
of all the states into a national government was 
necessary. 

The purpose of the Constitution. When the 
delegates from the several states met in Phila¬ 
delphia to create a strong national government, 
they were acting in order that the people of 
each state might have more freedom. Wherever 
there was strife between states, freedom could 
not be preserved. What then was to be the 
purpose of the national Constitution? The 
delegates spent much time deciding what its 


no 


Our Dual Government 


purpose should be, but after it was clearly 
understood, they had a guide in all of their 
deliberations. Since that time the people of 
America have had a guide in all of their public 
acts, and throughout our national history this 
purpose has served to keep the nation straight. 
Wherever the people have departed from it for 
a time, they have suffered; and wherever they 
have followed it, they have been making a 
greater nation. The purpose is stated in the 
first paragraph of the Constitution and is called 
the Preamble. 

The Preamble to the Constitution 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran¬ 
quillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general 
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for 
the United States of America. 

The delegates, it should be remembered, were 
stating a purpose which, if fully observed, would 
protect the life, liberty, and happiness of all 
citizens. What did it seek to accomplish? 

I. To form a more perfect union. The history 
of the period between the close of the Revolu¬ 
tionary War and the adoption of the Constitu¬ 
tion shows the need of a “more perfect union.” 
Such a union was necessary in order that the 
thirteen states might be able to live in harmony 
and avoid friction. They would be able to 


Our Government 


hi 


command respect in Europe. They would be 
able to resist any attack from any foreign 
country and at the same time be competent 
to put down any disturbance within. Union 
meant friendship, cooperation, and a better 
understanding. 

2. To establish justice . Fair dealing between 
states and between individuals of different 
states depended upon the establishment of 
courts by the nation. Every citizen has the 
right to live, to work, to enjoy the results of 
his own labors, and to engage in those activities 
that give him or his family pleasure, provided 
they do not injure or deprive any other person 
of the same rights. Disputes or disagreements 
must be settled by fair judicial bodies, otherwise 
people will resort to mob law, or to brawls, or 
to fighting. All good society is founded on 
justice. 

3. To insure domestic tranquillity. The aim 
of the new government was to promote domestic 
tranquillity and to encourage peace among 
individuals and between states, that strife and 
lawlessness and forms of disorder might be 
prohibited. Wherever mobs of any kind take 
the law in their own hands, wherever the public 
is disturbed by people who do not respect 
our courts, “domestic tranquillity’ ’ cannot be 
insured. It is necessary to preserve order that 


112 


Our Dual Government 


citizens may have freedom. No one is safe 
where disorder prevails. There had already 
been too many disturbances in the colonies, 
and the makers of our government wished to 
insure domestic tranquillity to all future genera¬ 
tions. 

4. To provide for the common defense. It was 
absolutely necessary for all the states to unite 
for common defense when each nation of Europe 
was anxious to take possession of this new 
country. In order to defend the people against 
European aggression, we had to serve warning 
against France at one time. We fought Eng¬ 
land a second time. Our people were protected 
against the other European nations, and all the 
world was made to understand that we were 
amply able to defend ourselves. 

5. To promote the general welfare. It was 
very clear that one great purpose of this new 
government was to promote the welfare of all 
the people. Roads had to be built, streams 
had to be opened for navigation, harbors had 
to be improved, lighthouses had to be estab¬ 
lished, agriculture had to be improved, the 
public lands had to be distributed fairly, the 
Indians had to be treated with, the children 
had to be educated, and opportunities had to 
be provided for men and women to make and 
enjoy the fruits of their labors. It was the 


Our Government 


113 

duty, therefore, of the new nation to secure from 
Europe information of value concerning agri¬ 
culture and industry and to disseminate this 
information among our people that they might 
be encouraged to achieve. It was natural that 
one great aim was to promote the general welfare. 

6 . To secure the blessings of liberty for our¬ 
selves and our posterity. It was the duty of 
the nation not only to provide a fair govern¬ 
ment for the people of that generation, but 
to preserve it, so that their children and their 
children’s children forever might have the same 
freedom to live, to work, and to have recreation 
and happiness. Therefore it was made difficult 
for any group of people to change the Consti¬ 
tution. All our laws are based on it and are 
executed in accordance with its provisions, and 
all disputes are decided in harmony with it. 

It is easy to see why our Constitution is such 
an important document. On it we have built 
a great nation, and our people are prosperous. 
We have more liberty, better opportunity, and 
more general welfare than the people of any 
other nation. And when we go wrong, it is 
because we have departed from the purpose as 
set forth in the Preamble. 

The organization of the government. Having 
stated the purpose of the Constitution clearly, 
how did its makers provide for the organization • 


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Our Government 


US 

of the government? Each state had a legisla¬ 
tive body, a governor or an executive body, and 
its own courts and judicial officers. They 
provided that the national government should 
likewise have three parts, the legislative, the 
executive, and the judicial, and the Constitution 
tells how each shall be selected. 

1. The legislative body. This is composed in 
the several states of two parts, or two houses, 
and it is necessary for an act to pass both houses 
before it can become a law. It was provided 
that the legislative body of the nation shall 
likewise have two houses, the Senate and the 
House of Representatives, and an act must pass 
both houses before it can become a law. 

2. The chief executive. In the state the chief 
executive-is called a governor. When the Con¬ 
stitution was written, it was provided that the 
chief executive of the nation should be called 
president, and his duties were defined, so that 
his acts might not interfere with the acts of 
the governors of the states. 

3. The judicial body. This is composed of 
the courts, judges, and the other officers of 
the courts. Each state had its judicial body, 
and the national Constitution gave to the nation 
a judicial body. But the duties of the national 
judicial body are outlined in the Constitution 
in order to prevent friction in the states. 



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THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY 














Our Government 


117 

4. Powers reserved to the states and the people . 
Article X of the Bill of Rights says: “The 
powers not delegated to the United States by 
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the 
states, are reserved to the states respectively, 
or to the people.” The people, therefore, are 
supreme. They may change their Constitution. 
They may place restrictions on themselves, such 
as prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, 
or they may remove these restrictions whenever 
they feel that it is in the interest of the general 
welfare. The way is provided in the Consti¬ 
tution. 

But, as President Garfield said, “The state 
government touches the citizen twenty times 
where the national government touches him 
once.” While the state and national laws are 
sometimes very closely related, they rarely 
overlap and come in conflict. One reason for 
this is that every state constitution ratifies the 
national Constitution and every state officer 
takes an oath to support it. The national laws 
touch the individual in times of peace very 
slightly. We are governed chiefly by state 
laws. One writer on our government has well 
said: “All our laws of marriage and divorce, of 
inheritance, of partnerships and corporations, 
laws against crime (with a few exceptions), all 
laws concerning our business and social relations 


n8 Our Dual Government 

are state laws. Our public school system, our 
civil and religious rights, protection of our 
homes, all depend on state authority, and the 
national ^government has nothing to do with 
them/’ 

How the United States is unlike other nations. 

When our national government was organized 
in 1789, it was unlike the governments of all 
other nations in these three particulars: the 
dual system, the three divisions as they were 
selected and kept separate, and the rights 
reserved to the people. But since that time 
the progressive nations of the world have 
moved in the same direction. Many have 
copied our form of government, and all have 
changed theirs and have adopted features 
similar to ours. Only a few kings remain, and 
they have been deprived of the great power they 
had when the government of the United States 
was created. The people all over .the world are 
learning how to govern themselves, and the 
people of the thirteen states gave to the world 
the first great example of self-government. 

What people of other nations say about 
our government. One of the greatest statesmen 
of England, William E. Gladstone, said: “The 
American Constitution is the most wonderful 
work ever struck off at a given timp by the 
brain and purpose of man.” 


Our Government 


119 

King Victor Emmanuel, of Italy, said that 
the American spirit was guiding the nations of 
the earth, and the Fourth of July was declared 
a national holiday in Italy, to be “celebrated 
by all free peoples as if it were their own glad¬ 
some holiday, or a rite portending the victory 
of liberty and justice.” 

The president of France also declared that 
“the Independence Day of the United States 
shall also be a French holiday.” 

The nations of South America copied our 
form of government, and our Fourth of July is 
a national holiday also in those countries. 

Since the United States has meant so much to 
the people of other nations, how much more 
should our own people cherish it, honor it, and 
support it. These are the makers of our govern¬ 
ment today. 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

The teacher should have the Preamble to the Con¬ 
stitution written or printed in large letters and hung 
in the schoolroom. It should be the guiding purpose in 
all school government. Children should be taught how 
to form a more perfect union of pupils and patrons in the 
community. They should be taught how to establish 
justice among themselves and how they may promote the 
general welfare. 

The teacher should compare the organization of the 
state government with that of the national government. 
Which has greater authority in making laws? The nation 


120 


Our Dual Government 


has been made great because the states that compose it 
are great. How can we make our state, our community, 
our school greater ? Show that as we make even one part 
of a state greater, we are making a greater nation; and 
show that whenever people will not cooperate, whenever 
lawless and mob rule prevails, we are tearing down our 
great government. 


CHAPTER XI 


Constitution of the United States 1 

[Note. —The teacher should read the Constitution to the pupils 
and discuss it, or they should read it together.] 

PREAMBLE 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more 
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, 
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, 
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, 
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 

ARTICLE I. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i. All legislative powers herein granted shall be 
vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist 
of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. i. The House of Representatives shall be composed 
of members chosen every second year by the people of the 
several states, and the electors in each state shall have the 
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch 
of the state legislature. 

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have 
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years 
a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, 
be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several states which may be included within this 
Union, according to their respective numbers, which shall be 
determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, 

1 In the use of punctuation and capitals this draft is modem. 


12 I 



122 


Our Dual Government 


including those bound to service for a term of years, and exclud¬ 
ing Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The 
actual enumeration shall be made within three years after 
the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and 
within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner 
as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives 
shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each state 
shall have at least one representative; and until such enu¬ 
meration shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be 
entitled to choose 3; Massachusetts, 8; Rhode Island and 
Providence Plantations, 1; Connecticut, 5; New York, 6; 
New Jersey, 4; Pennsylvania, 8; Delaware, 1; Maryland, 6; 
Virginia, 10; North Carolina, 5; South Carolina, 5; and Georgia, 3 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any 
state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of elec- 
tion to fill such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker 
and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeach¬ 
ment. 

Sec. 3. 1. The Senate of the United States shall be com¬ 

posed of two senators from each state, [chosen by the legislature 
thereof], 1 for six years; and each senator shall have one vote. 

2 . Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence 
of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be 
into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class 
shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the 
second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the 
third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one- 
third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen 
by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature 
of any state, the executive thereof may make temporary appoint¬ 
ments until - the ■ next meeting of the legislature, which shall 
then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of that state for whichJie shall be chosen. 


1 See Article XVII for amendmens. 



Constitution of the United States 


123 


4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be presi¬ 
dent of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be 
equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also 
a president pro tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, 
or when he shall exercise the office of President of the United 
States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeach¬ 
ments. When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath 
or affirmation. When the President of the United States is 
tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be 
convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualification to 
hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 
United States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless 
be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and.pun¬ 
ishment, according to law. 

Sec. 4. 1. The times, places, and manner of holding 

elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed 
in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may 
at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as 
to the places of choosing senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, 
and such meeting shall be on the first Monday of December, 
unless they shall by law appoint a different day. 

Sec. 5. 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, 

returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority 
of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller 
number may adjourn ffbm day to day, and may be authorized 
to compel the attendance of absent members in such manner 
and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, 
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the 
concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as 


124 


Our Dual Government 


may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays 
of the members of either house on any question shall, at the 
desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three 
days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses 
shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. 1. The senators and representatives shall receive 

a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, 
and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They 
shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the 
peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
the session of their respective houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either 
house they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under 
the authority of the United States, which shall have been 
created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, 
during such time; and no person holding any office under the 
United States shall be a member of either house during his 
continuance in office. 

Sec. 7. 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in 

the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose 
or concur with amendments as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives and the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be 
presented to the President of the United States; if he approve 
he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections 
to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter 
the objections at large on their journal; and proceed to recon¬ 
sider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that 
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with 
the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise 
be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that house 
it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both 
houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the'names 


Constitution of the United States 


125 


of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not 
be returned by the -President within ten days (Sundays excepted) 
after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a 
law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress 
by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall 
not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary 
(except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the 
President of the United States; and before the same shall take 
effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, 
shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, according to the rules and limitations pre¬ 
scribed in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 8 . The Congress shall have power: 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, 
to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and 
general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, 
and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the several states, and with the Indian tribes; 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United 
States; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of for¬ 
eign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the 
securities and current coin of the United States; 

7. To establish post offices and post roads; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by 
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclu¬ 
sive rights to their respective writings and discoveries; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed 
on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations. 


126 


Our Dual Government 


11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal- 
and make rules concerning captures on land and water; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of 
the land and naval forces; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the 
laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed 
in the service of the United States, reserving to the states 
respectively the appointment of the officers and the authority 
of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by 
Congress; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, 
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by 
cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, 
become the seat of the government of the United States, and 
to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the con¬ 
sent of the legislature of the state in. which the same shall be, 
for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
other needful buildings; and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other 
powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

Sec. 9. 1. The migration or importation of such persons 

as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, 
shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be 
imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for 
each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the 
public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 


Constitution of the United States 127 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in 
proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed 
to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
state. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of com¬ 
merce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; 
nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, 
clear, or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in con¬ 
sequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular state¬ 
ment and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public 
money shall be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; 
and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them 
shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, 
emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state. 

Sec. 10. 1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, 

or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin 
money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver 
coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, 
ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, 
or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may 
be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and 
the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on 
imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the 
United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revisbn 
and control of the Congress. 

3. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, 
enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or 
with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, 
or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 


128 


Our Dual Government 


ARTICLE II. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i. i. The executive power shall be vested in a 
President of the United States of America. He shall hold his 
office during the term of four years, and, together with the 
Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows: 

2. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole 
number of senators and representatives to which the state 
may be entitled in the Congress; but no senator or represen¬ 
tative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the 
United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

3. [The electors shall meet in their respective states, and 
vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not 
be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves. And they 
shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number 
of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president 
of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall 
then be counted. The person having the greatest number of 
votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more 
than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of 
votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately 
choose by ballot one of them for President; and if no person 
have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said 
house shall in like manner choose the President. But in choos¬ 
ing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the repre¬ 
sentation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this 
purpose shalUconsist of a member or members from two-thirds 
of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary 
to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, 
the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors 
shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two 
or more who have, equal votes, the Senate shall choose from 
them by ballot the Vice-President.] 1 

1 See article XII for amendment. 



Constitution of the United States 129 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the 
electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which 
day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of 
the United States at the time of the adoption of this Consti¬ 
tution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall 
any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resi¬ 
dent within the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of 
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and 
duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice- 
President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case 
of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President 
and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as 
President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the dis¬ 
ability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his serv¬ 
ices a compensation, 1 which shall neither be increased nor 
diminished during the period for which he shall have been 
elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other 
emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall 
take the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear 
(or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President 
of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre¬ 
serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” 

Sec. 2. 1. The President shall be commander in chief of 

the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia 
of the several states, when called into the actual service of the 
United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the 
principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon 
any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, 
and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offen¬ 
ses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

1 The President receives $75,000 a year, and $25,000 additional for traveling 
expenses; the Vice-President receives $12,000 a year. 


9 



130 


Our Dual Government 


2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the 
senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambas¬ 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme 
Court, and all other officers of the United States whose appoint¬ 
ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be 
established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in 
the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies 
that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting 
commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress 
information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their 
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both 
houses, or either of them, and, in case of disagreement between 
them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn 
them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive 
ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the 
officers of the United States. 

Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers 
of the United States shall be removed from office on impeach¬ 
ment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high 
crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Section i. The judicial power of the United States shall 
be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as 
the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The 
judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their 
offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive 
for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished 
during their continuance in office. 


Constitution of the United States 131 

Sec. 2. 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in 

law and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the 
United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime 
jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall 
be a party; to controversies between two or more states; between 
a state and citizens of another state; between citizens of different 
states; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under 
grants of different states; and between a state, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, 
and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the 
Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the 
other cases before mentioned the Supreme Court shall have 
appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such excep¬ 
tions, and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, 
shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where 
the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not 
committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place 
or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Sec. 3. 1. Treason against the United States shall consist 

only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, 
giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted 
of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption 
of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person 
attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. RELATIONS OF THE STATES 

Section i. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state 
to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every 
other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe 


132 


Our Dual Government 


the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall 
be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. 2. i. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or 
other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another 
state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state 
from which he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the state 
having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one state, under 
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence 
of any law_or regulation therein, be discharged from such service 
or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom 
such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. 3. 1. New states may be admitted by the Congress 

into this Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected 
within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor any state be 
formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, 
without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, 
as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make 
all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or 
other property belonging to the United States; and nothing 
in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any 
claims of the United States, or of any particular state. 

Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state 
in this Union a republican form of government, and shall pro¬ 
tect each of them against invasion; and, on application of the 
legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be 
convened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. AMENDMENTS 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall 
deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Consti¬ 
tution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds 
of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing 


Constitution of the United States 133 

amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents 
and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by 
the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by con¬ 
ventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided, that 
no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thou¬ 
sand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the 
first and fourth clauses of the ninth section of the first article; 
and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its 
equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. GENERAL PROVISIONS 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into before 
the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the 
United States under this Constitution as under the Confed¬ 
eration. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or 
which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, 
shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every 
state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or 
laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and 
the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive 
and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several 
states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this 
Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a 
qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 

The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be 
sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between 
the states so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the states 

present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our 

Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of 


134 


Our Dual Government 


the independence of the United States of America the 
twelfth. 

In witness whereof, we'have hereunto subscribed our names, 



President , and Deputy from Virginia 


New Hampshire 
John Langdon 
Nicholas Gilman 

Massachusetts 
Nathaniel Gorham 
Rufus King 

Connecticut 

William Samuel Johnson 
Roger Sherman 

New York 

Alexander Hamilton 
New Jersey 
William Livingston 
David Brearley 
William Paterson 
Jonathan Dayton 

Pennsylvania 
Benjamin Franklin 
Thomas Mifflin 
Robert Morris 
George Clymer 
Thomas Fitzsimons 
Jared Ingersoll 
James Wilson 
Gouvemeur Morris 

Attest: 


Delaware 
George Reed 
Gunning Bedford, Jun. 

John Dickinson 
Richard Bassett 
Jacob Broom 

Maryland 
James McHenry 
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer 
Daniel Carroll 

Virginia 

John Blair 
James Madison, Jun. 

North Carolina 
William Blount 
Richard Dobbs Speight 
Hugh Williamson 

South Carolina 
John Rutledge 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
Charles Pinckney 
Pierce Butler 

Georgia 
William Few 
Abraham Baldwin 
William Jackson, Secretary 

< 


Constitution of the United States 135 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 
The Bill of Rights 1 
ARTICLE I 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of. 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 
the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for 
a redress of grievances. 


ARTICLE II 

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of 
a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall 
not be infringed. 


ARTICLE III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon 
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particu¬ 
larly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 


ARTICLE V 

No persons shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, 
or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public 

1 The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights and were adopted in 
1791. 



136 


Our Dua / Government 


danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense 
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be com¬ 
pelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor 
be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process 
of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use with¬ 
out just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the 
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the 
state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, 
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, 
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; 
to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have com¬ 
pulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have 
the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be pre¬ 
served, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined 
in any court of the United States, than according to the rules 
of the common law. 


ARTICLE VIII 

\ 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall 
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 
people. 

ARTICLE X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Con¬ 
stitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to 
the states respectively, or to the people. 


137 


Constitution of the United States 

Later Amendments 
ARTICLE XI 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be con¬ 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or 
prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of 
another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

ARTICLE XII 

The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at 
least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with them¬ 
selves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as 
President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- 
President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted 
for as President and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, 
and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign 
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government 
of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate. 
The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest 
number of votes for President shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; 
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons 
having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list 
of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in 
choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the 
representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two- 
thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be 
necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives 
shall not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall 
devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next follow¬ 
ing, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the 
case of the death or other constitutional disability of the 


138 


Our Dual Government 


President. The person having the greatest number of votes as 
Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such number 
be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and 
if no person have a majority, then from the two highest num¬ 
bers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a 
quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole 
number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall 
be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally 
ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of 
Vice-President of the United States. 

ARTICLE XIII 

1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place 
subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬ 
priate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV 

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall 
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or 
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state 
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 
number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. 
But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of 
electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, 
representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers 
of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied 
to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one 
years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way 
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime 


Constitution of the United States 


139 


the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro¬ 
portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to 
the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in 
such state. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, 
or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, 
civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, 
who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, 
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state 
legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, 
to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have 
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given 
aid and comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, 
by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of 
pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection 
or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation 
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United 
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; 
but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal 
and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro¬ 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state 
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The Congress shall have power to enforce the provisions 
of this article by appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on 
incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment 
among the several states, and without regard to any census 
or enumeration. 


/ 

140 Our Dual Government 

ARTICLE XVII 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for 
six years; and each senator shall have one vote. The electors 
in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors 
of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state 
in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue 
writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided , that the 
legislature of any state may empower the excutive thereof to 
make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies 
by election as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the 
election or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid 
as part of the Constitution. 

ARTICLE XVIII 

1. After one year from the ratification of this article the 
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors 
within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof 
from the United States and all territory subject to the juris¬ 
diction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. 

2. The Congress and the several states shall have concur¬ 
rent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 

3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have 
been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the 
legislatures of the several states, as provided in the Constitution, 
within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to 
the states by the Congress. 

ARTICLE XIX 

1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state 
on account of sex. 

2. Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, 
to enforce the provisions of this article. 


Constitution of the United States 141 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
After teacher and pupils have read together the Con¬ 
stitution, the teacher should point out that three divisions 
of government are provided for in the Constitution, 
namely the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial, 
and explain how each is now composed. It will be in¬ 
teresting also to explain how amendments are made and 
the history back of each amendment. 


CHAPTER XII 


Washington, the First President 

How the Constitution was adopted. When 
the delegates to the Constitutional Convention 
signed their names to that great document on 
September 17, 1787, they returned home to 
persuade their respective states to adopt it. It 
was provided that three-fourths of the states 
must adopt it before it could be accepted as a 
national Constitution. Delaware was the first 
to approve it and agree to work under it. Soon 
Pennsylvania adopted it, New Jersey came next, 
and Georgia fourth. There was some delay 
before Connecticut and Massachusetts adopted 
it in the order given. Then came Maryland 
and South Carolina. One more was needed 
before the new government could be organized, 
and there was a long pause. In June, 1788, 
nearly a year after the Constitution was written, 
Virginia adopted it. This made nine. There 
went up a shout from the people: “The govern¬ 
ment is secure. Hurrah for the United States 
of America!” But while the people were 
hurrahing for Virginia, news came that New 
Hampshire had accepted it four days before 


142 


Washington , the First President 


r 43 


Virginia’s action. Within a few weeks New 
York joined the ranks. This made eleven. 
North Carolina and Rhode Island, as was told 
in a previous chapter, remained out of the Union 
until after the government was organized. 

The first president. The old Congress had 
decided that the election to determine who 
should be the first president should be held on 
the first Wednesday in January, 1789. Each 
state was directed to elect a certain number of 
electors, who were to meet on the first Wednes¬ 
day in February and select a president and a 
vice-president; and on the first Wednesday in 
March, which happened that year to be the 
fourth, the new president was to be formally 
inaugurated. On that date the new Congress 
was to meet and the new president was to be 
notified by Congress of his election. But when 
the fourth of March came, Congress did not 
meet. The roads were so bad and the methods 
of travel so slow that the members could not 
all learn of their election and reach New York 
by March 4. It was not until about the first of 
April that Congress convened. It then had to 
count the votes and notify the new president. 
When the votes were counted, it was found that 
George Washington had received every vote 
cast for president and John Adams had received 
a majority of the votes cast for vice-president. 


144 


Our Dual Government 


A messenger was sent to Mount Vernon at 
once to notify Washington of his election. But 



From Winsor’h History of America, Vol. VII 


MOUNT VERNON IN WASHINGTON’S TIME 

it was not until about the middle of the month 
that the message could be delivered, and on the 
sixteenth Washington left Mount Vernon pn 
horseback for New York, to begin his duties as 
the first president of the United States. He 
wrote in his diary: “About ten o’clock I bade 
adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to 
domestic felicity; and, with a mind oppressed 
with more anxious and painful sensations than 
I have words to express, set out for New York, 
.... with the best disposition to render 
service to my country, in obedience to its call.” 



Washington, the First President 


i45 


The journey to New York. It was a long 
journey, in the days before railroads, from 
Mount Vernon to New York. But all along 
the route the people sought news of the coming 
of their new president and when they might 
expect him. The roads were lined with people 
to see him pass. In the villages all work was 
stopped, bells were rung, guns were fired, 
and flowers were scattered in his path. In 
February they had been celebrating his birth¬ 
day, and they were now anxious to see their 
first president. No great conqueror in ancient 
times had ■ ever had a more triumphal and 
joyous procession. 

The people of his home town, Alexandria, 
Virginia, gave him a dinner and a great re¬ 
ception as he was leaving. Baltimore received 
him with thundering cannon and high honors. 
Philadelphia erected a triumphal arch, and when 
he reached Chester he was placed on a beautiful 
white horse, and a great procession of people 
escorted him into the city. At Trenton, New 
Jersey, where he had fought one of the battles 
of the Revolutionary War, another triumphal 
arch was erected in his honor, and on it were 
inscribed these words: “The Defender of the 
Mothers will be the Protector of the Daughters.” 
He was accompanied through the arch by a pro¬ 
fession of girls, all dressed in white, who strewed 
10 


146 


Our Dual Government 


flowers in his path, singing an ode, one verse of 
which is as follows: 

Virgins fair, and matrons grave,' 

Those thy conquering arms did save, 

Build for thee triumphal bowers; 

Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers— 

Strew your hero’s way with flowers. 

When he reached the Hudson River, a fine 
boat, built for the occasion, was waiting for 
him. The pilots were all dressed in white, and 
a large number of other vessels, highly decorated 
and containing many distinguished citizens, 
accompanied him to the New York shore. He 
arrived on Thursday, April 23, 1789. All New 
York was decorated for the occasion. The 
boom of cannons announced his arrival. When 
he landed, he was met by Governor Clinton, 
of New York, and escorted through the streets, 
followed by an immense throng of people. 

The inauguration. Congress fixed April 30 
as the date of the inauguration. Many of his 
old soldiers who had followed him through the 
war made the journey to New York to see their 
chief made president. Some had wanted to 
make him king, but he refused to consider the 
offer. When the day came for his inauguration, 
all the churches held religious services in the 
morning, and a few minutes after twelve Wash¬ 
ington, accompanied by both Houses of Con¬ 
gress, appeared on the balcony of Federal Hall. 


Washington, the First President 


147 


The immense crowd sent up a shout that seemed 
to overwhelm him, and he sank down into an 
armchair. The crowd was instantly hushed. 
Many thought he was sick. But he soon arose, 
and laying his hand on the Bible solemnly pro¬ 
nounced the oath. At the conclusion, the people 
shouted: “Long live George Washington, presi¬ 
dent of the United States!” A flag was waved. 
Instantly cannons fired the salute to the new 
president, and the bells of the city were rung long 
and joyfully. A few minutes after the oath 
of office was administered, Washington retired 
to an inner room, and read his inaugural address. 

The new government. With the inauguration 
of Washington the new government started 
on its great career. The reader should turn to 
Chapter XI and read the president’s duties as 
outlined by the Constitution. At the very out¬ 
set, it was seen that the Constitution should be 
amended so as to protect the rights of the people. 
North Carolina and Rhode Island would not 
enter the Union until a Bill of Rights was 
practically guaranteed. This became the first ten 
amendments. But the new government began 
before these two states were a part of the Union. 

Washington’s friends had told him that he 
could do more than any other man to unite the 
people of all sections into one nation, and he was 
now called upon to use his best judgment and 


148 


Our Dual Government 


secure the best advice from many people, in 
order to give the new government a fair start. 
Our histories tell the names of those whom he 
selected to aid him in completing the organiza¬ 
tion provided in the Constitution. It was a 
tremendous task that confronted our first 
president. But before six months had passed 
Washington and the members of Congress were 
so thankful for the new nation that had been 
created that a day was set apart as Thanks¬ 
giving Day, and Washington issued the follow¬ 
ing proclamation: 

The First Thanksgiving Proclamation 

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the 
providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful 
for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and 
favor; and 

Whereas both houses of Congress have, by their joint 
committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of 
the United States a day of t public thanksgiving and prayer, to 
be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many 
and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them 
an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government 
for their safety and happiness;” 

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, 
the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people 
of these States to the service of that great and glorious 
Being, who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, 
that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering 
unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and 
protection of the people of this country previous to their becom¬ 
ing a nation; for ,the signal and manifold mercies and the 
favorable interpositions of His providence, in the course and 
conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, 


Washington , the First President 149 

union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peace¬ 
able and rational manner in which we have been enabled to 
establish constitutions of government for our safety and happi¬ 
ness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; 
for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and 
the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge: 
and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He 
has been pleased to confer upon us. 

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering 
our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of 
Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other 
transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private 
stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly 
and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing 
to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise ? 
just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed 
and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations 
(especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to Bless 
them with good governments, peace and concord; to promote 
the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the 
increase of science, among them and us; and, generally, to grant 
unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He 
alone knows to be best. 

Important duties. The authorities had to find 
some way to pay the soldiers and also the debts 
incurred by the states in supporting the soldiers 
during the war. They had to make treaties 
with foreign countries; they had to protect the 
frontiers from the Indians; they had to provide 
for the navigation of the Mississippi River, since 
Spain owned the territory west of the river. 
They had to provide for creating new states out 
of new territory; they had to put down uprisings 
here and there where the people did not like 


Our Dual Government 


150 

the laws enacted by Congress, and they had to 
provide a currency; that is, a form of money 
that could be used by all the states. 

The new government was 1 created for the 
purpose of correcting the defects of the Articles 
of Confederation, and it required the greatest 
wisdom to conduct it in such a manner as to win 
the confidence of the people, promote the gen-x 
eral welfare, and secure the respect of enlight¬ 
ened people of other nations. Even the leaders 
in the government, selected by Washington, did 
not always agree with his plans or approve his 
acts, but there was enough patriotic cooperation 
to make his administration a great success. 

Moreover, Washington had to appoint many 
people to office, and those who wished to hold 
office and were not appointed, were angry. It 
was natural that the disappointed ones should 
criticize him. At the end of his first term he 
wished to retire to Mount Vernon, but the 
nation was not thoroughly organized, and the 
more thoughtful and patriotic people persuaded 
Washington to serve at least another term, and 
he was reelected. The people felt safe under 
his leadership. By the end of the second term, 
however, the government was well established, 
and he was determined to return to Mount 
Vernon and there spend the remainder of his 
days in peace and quiet. He did not believe 
that it would be safe for the country for one man 


Washington, the First President 151 

to be president more than two terms. And since 
his time, no president has been permitted to 
hold office longer than that. 

Washington’s farewell address. Near the 
end of his second term Washington issued a 
farewell address to the people of the United 
States. It is so full of wisdom that it is often 
read today, although more than a hundred and 
twenty-five years have passed since it was 
written, and it is still considered one of the 
greatest addresses on our government ever 
delivered. 

1. He urged the people to support the Con¬ 
stitution and preserve the unity of the people, 
on which depends the tranquillity of the home, 
peace with other countries, the prosperity of 
the citizens, and the liberty of the people. 

2. He advised them to give up their sectional 
differences. The North, the South, and the 
West were so far apart and it was so difficult 
to communicate with one another in those days 
that he feared they would develop greater enmity 
and that foreign countries might aid in creating 
dissensions. He pleaded with them to have 
confidence in the new government and support 
it, for, said he, “A government for the whole 
is indispensable.” 

3. He urged the people to support the laws 
of the country—the laws that the people them¬ 
selves were responsible for — and he again 


152 


Our Dual Government 


pleaded with them not to let parties destroy 
their confidence in the government. 

4. He pointed out to the people the need of 
keeping the legislative, the executive, and the 
judicial departments forever separate, and the 
need of each department of government keep¬ 
ing within its respective constitutional sphere. 

5. He declared that “religion and morality 
are indispensable supports” of good government; 
and that true patriotism cannot last if it is not 
based on moral principles, and morality cannot 
be maintained without religion. 

6/ He pointed out the necessity of schools, 
saying that the diffusion of knowledge is an 
object of primary importance, and that educa¬ 
tional institutions should be maintained. He 
declared that, since the government is supported 
by public opinion, “it is essential that public 
opinion should be enlightened.” 

7. He urged them to cherish the public credit 
by meeting their expenses promptly, and not to 
make the taxes burdensome on the people. 
Again he urged them to educate the people to 
the needs of their government in order that 
they might approve the taxes levied. 

8. He advised them strongly to “observe 
good faith and justice toward all nations” and 
to “cultivate peace and harmony with all,” but 
to avoid becoming entangled in European wars 


Washington t the First President 


i53 


or showing partiality to any European nation. 
He urged them not to entertain passionate 
hatreds for any people nor have passionate 
attachments to any nation. 

His death. This address was delivered Sep¬ 
tember 17, 1796. A few months later he retired 
to Mount Vernon, where he died on December 31, 
1799. When the news of his death was received, 
his own country went into deep mourning, and 
when the nations of Europe heard of his death, 
the armies of Napoleon and the fleet of England 
paid honor to his memory. Even the old 
monarchical nations of Europe recognized that 
t^e new nation had given to the world one of 
its greatest heroes. The nations of the world 
today still honor his memory and tell the story 
of his life to the children in school, and all 
Americans still revere his memory, honor his 
name, and place him affectionately in their 
hearts as “first in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of his countrymen.” 

An estimate of the new government. In cre¬ 
ating this new government, every state made a 
contribution, and its greatness is due in a large 
measure to the patriotism of the men who 
helped to guide it during that most critical 
period. The accomplishment is the wonder of 
the world. A great French writer, after study¬ 
ing it and seeing it in operation, wondered that 


154 


Our Dual Government 


a people could calmly decide that their old 
government under the Articles of Confederation 
was already on the verge of destruction, that 
the states would respond to a call such as that 
which led to the first Constitutional Conven¬ 
tion, that the representatives would turn their 
scrutinizing eyes upon the defects, then delib¬ 
erately stop the government, work out a new 
form, and patiently wait for two years until 
a remedy was discovered, which it voluntarily 
adopted, “ without having ever wrung a tear 
or a drop of blood from mankind.” 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
Why do we have a holiday on February 22 ? Compare 
Washington’s address with the Preamble to the Consti¬ 
tution. Show that his address covers every principle in 
the Preamble. How is his advice applicable to the people 
of today? If the North, the South, and the West had 
followed his advice, would we have had the Civil War? 


CHAPTER XIII 


True Americanism 

What is true Americanism? Whenever the 
acts of our people or their representatives in 
the government are in harmony with the pur¬ 
pose of this nation, as expressed in the Preamble 
to the Constitution, they have given examples 
of true Americanism. “A nation is made 
great,” said Dr. Lyman Abbott, “not by its 
fruitful acres, but by the men who cultivate 
them; not by its great forests, but by the men 
who use them; not by its mines, but by the 
men who work them; not by its railroads, but 
by the men who build them and run them. 
America was a great land when Columbus dis¬ 
covered it: Americans have made it a great 
nation.” How have the people lived who have 
cultivated the fields, used the forests, worked 
the mines, operated the railroads, and carried 
on the work of the nation? What have we 
inherited from them? 

Our public school system. Thomas Jefferson, 
one of the makers of our government, declared: 
“I do most earnestly wish to see the highest 
degree of education given to the highest degree 


i5S 


Our Dual Government 


156 

of genius, and all degrees of it so much as may 
enable them to read and understand what is 
going on in the world, and to keep their part of 
it going on right.” It was necessary to provide 
schools in order that Americans might be intelli¬ 
gent enough to govern themselves, support 
themselves, and appreciate their freedom and 
opportunity. 

Wherever one goes today he will see costly 
school buildings. The people spend millions of 
dollars on the education of the children. Under 
the law, even parents are not permitted to 
deprive their children of an education. Our 
nation expects the boys and girls to become 
self-reliant and self-governing and have a spirit 
of cooperation. Now' every child is offered 
this opportunity. The state makes provision 
for the establishment of schools, but the nation 
contributes large sums also, and in this way the 
two seek to give the largest opportunity possible 
for the development of their citizens. A school 
system fit for a democracy had to be established 
in order that the purpose of the Constitution 
might be carried out. No other nation has 
worked out such a public school system as we 
have today, and it has no parallel among the 
nations of the world. 

It offers the opportunity to all people to learn 
to read and write, that each may understand 


True Americanism 


*57 


what is going on in the world, that he may 
communicate with people in other parts of the 
country, and that he may have the skill and the 
wisdom to keep his part of it going on right. 

It offers each person the opportunity to learn 
easily a profession or some skilled trade, with¬ 
out much cost to himself. It shows him the 
value of good workmanship and teaches him 
how to work so that he may later provide a 
good home for himself and his children. 

It aids the home by giving instruction in 
the laws of health, so that every child may have 
the opportunity to become physically fit. It 
gives opportunity for the children to learn how 
to cooperate, how to work together. The 
athletic teams, the class spirit, the literary 
clubs, the organization of the school, all give 
the child an opportunity to see how far he 
can cooperate in making a good community. 

It gives the young people an opportunity to 
make new friends and to learn the value of 
friendship and how much it means to society 
to have the people loyal to their courts, their 
communities, and their homes. 

Every citizen an acting member of the gov¬ 
ernment. Nowhere else in the world have the 
people had such a large part in the operations 
of the government. When Thomas Jefferson 
was asked how the liberties of the people might 


Our Dual Government 


158 

be preserved, he said, “Make every citizen an 
acting member of the government.” This was 
an unattempted thing in the world before our 
Constitution was adopted. But how can every 
citizen become an acting member of the govern¬ 
ment? 

Again it was Thomas Jefferson who answered 
this question: “It is by division and sub¬ 
division of duties alone that all matters, great 
and small, can be managed to perfection. And 
the whole is cemented by giving every citizen 
personally a part in the administration of public 
affairs.” 

The nation is divided into states, the states 
into counties, the counties into towns or cities 
and townships, and in each there is a form of 
government in which the people have the right 
to select officers and are given a part in the 
administration of public affairs. But it is 
necessary for the people to be moral and intelli¬ 
gent if each division of the government is to 
be wisely administered. 

A growing respect for law and order. The 
people through their own representatives are 
the lawmakers. Pupils on a ball team make 
the rules that govern the game, members of a 
literary society adopt the rules for their guid¬ 
ance. From the beginning, they are taught to 
be self-governing. But it is a violation of the 


True Americanism 


i 59 


spirit of true Americanism for the people to 
authorize laws to be made and then permit a 
part of the people to break them. Abraham 
Lincoln said: 

I know the American people are much attached to their 
government; I know they would suffer much for its sake; I know 
they would endure evils long and patiently before they would 
ever think of exchanging it for another—yet, notwithstanding 
all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if 
their rights to be secure in their persons and property are held 
by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of 
their affections from the government is the natural consequence; 
and to that, sooner or later, it must come. 

Here, then, is one point at which danger may be expected. 

The question recurs, How shall we fortify against it? The 
answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, 
every well-wisher to his posterity swear by the blood of the 
Revolution never to violate in the least particular the laws of 
the country, and never to tolerate their violation by others. 
As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Decla¬ 
ration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution 
and laws let every American pledge his life, his property, and his 
sacred honor. Let every man remember that to violate the 
law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the 
charter of his own and his children’s liberty. Let reverence 
for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the 
lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, 
in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, 
spelling-books, and almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, 
proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. 
And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation. 

Freedom and protection. Through the aid 
of the school and the freedom to develop, our 
nation has produced great inventors who have 


160 Our Dual Government 

given the world new machinery to work with 
and more occupations for the people to follow. 
It has produced great naturalists who have 
given us a better understanding of plants and 
animals and soils, and the food supply of the 
world has been much increased. It has pro¬ 
duced great industrial leaders who have created 
large working organizations, and the wealth of 
the world has been multiplied many times. It 
has created great social and political leaders who 
have made the world a better place to live in. 

The nation is great today because millions of 
men and women have safe homes; because 
their property is protected and they have the 
opportunity to work, develop, and contribute to 
the general welfare. Speaking of this, President 
Emeritus Charles W. Eliot once said that the 
actual experience of the American democracy 
proves: 

1. That property has never been safer under 
any other form of government. 

2. That no people has ever welcomed so 
ardently new machinery and new inventions 
generally. 

3. That religious toleration has never been 
carried so far and never been so universally 
accepted. 

4. That nowhere have the ability and dis¬ 
position to read been so general. 


True Americanism 


161 


5. That nowhere has governmental power 
been more adequate or more freely exercised 
to levy and collect taxes, to raise armies and 
disband them, to maintain public order, and to 
pay off great public debts — national, state, 
and town. 

6. That nowhere have property and well¬ 
being been so widely diffused. 

7. ( That no form of government has ever 
inspired greater affection and loyalty, or 
prompted to greater personal sacrifice in supreme 
moments. 

Defending freedom and independence. John 
Adams, the second president of the United 
States, said of America, ‘‘Wherever the standard 
of freedom and independence has been or shall 
be unfurled, there will her heart, her bene¬ 
dictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not 
abroad in search of enemies to destroy. She 
is the well-wisher to the freedom and inde¬ 
pendence of all.” 

The people of the United States had pros¬ 
pered so greatly under freedom and independ¬ 
ence that the Spanish colonies in South America, 
Mexico, and the West Indies also declared 
themselves independent. America was “well- 
wisher to the freedom and independence of 
all.” But certain nations of Europe wished to 
stop the spread of freedom and independence. 


11 


162 


Our Dual Government 


and when it appeared that these nations would 
combine to‘help Spain regain possession of these 
new states in South America and rob them of 
their freedom, it was then that President James 
Monroe, supported by Congress, declared it to 
be the duty of the United States: (i) to protect 
the other independent states in this Western 
Hemisphere against the interference of European 
nations; (2) to prevent any other European 
nation from securing colonies in the New 
World, and from selling or transferring colonies 
from one nation to another; and (3) to prevent 
the spread of monarchical principles in the 
Western Hemisphere. This is the Monroe 
Doctrine, so famous in history, and it has 
preserved the independence of other nations 
in the New World and safeguarded the liberties 
of the American people. 

Good faith toward all nations. George Wash¬ 
ington cautioned the American people to ‘ ‘ main¬ 
tain good faith and justice toward all nations.” 
How has this principle been observed? Wash¬ 
ington sought to settle disputes by treaties or 
arbitration rather than to go to war. And 
nearly all the disagreements with other nations 
have been settled this way. There was a 
world war at the beginning of the nineteenth 
century and one at the beginning of the twen¬ 
tieth century, and each time the United States 


True Americanism 


163 

was drawn into the conflict, even against her 
desire for peace. But outside of these two 
great world wars, our country has gone to war 
only twice with foreign countries in a period of 
more than one hundred and thirty years. But 
when our neighbors in Cuba were groaning 
under the tyranny of Spain and were deprived 
of that freedom that our people enjoyed, 
America went to war with Spain, gave inde¬ 
pendence to Cuba, and started a new nation 
off on the road to prosperity. No other nation 
in the world had ever done such a noble act 
as this. 

When the war between the United States 
and Spain ended, the United States bought the 
Philippine Islands. The people of these islands 
were very ignorant. One of the first acts of 
the nation was to send over hundreds of our 
best teachers to educate them, so that they 
might know how to govern themselves. This 
was at the expense of the United States and 
cost the Filipinos little except to go to school. 
They are going to school today by the thousands 
to learn how to be better citizens. 

There was a misunderstanding between the 
United States and the nations of Europe over 
what tax or toll American vessels should pay in 
passing through the Panama Canal. Our agree¬ 
ment or treaty with England was interpreted 


164 


Our Dual Government 


by Americans to mean that certain Ameri¬ 
can vessels should be free to use the canal 
without paying toll. England and the other 
nations declared that they had had a different 
understanding. It looked for a time as if we 
would make enemies by exempting our own 
vessels. President Wilson declared, “We are 
too self-respecting a nation to interpret with a 
too strained or refined reading the words of our 
promises just because we have power enough to 
give us leave to read them as we please.'’ Con¬ 
gress took the President’s advice and repealed 
the laws that made the European nations angry. 
This set a new standard in fairness and justice 
to all nations. 

Our nation had to send soldiers to China to 
protect American citizens, but when China 
paid for the damages, this money was given 
back to the nation for the education of Chinese 
children. 

When the last World War came, the United 
States was so affected by it that our nation had 
to take part in it. President Wilson declared: 
“The right is more precious than peace, and 
we shall fight for the things which we have 
always carried nearest our hearts — for democ¬ 
racy, for the right of those who submit to 
authority to have a voice in their own govern¬ 
ment, for the rights and liberties of small 


True Americanism 


165 

nations, for a universal dominion of right by 
such a court of free peoples as shall bring peace 
and safety to all nations and make the world 
at last free/’ This is one of the finest expres¬ 
sions of true Americanism. 

Danger of departing from the Constitution. 
These are examples of true Americanism. But 
it is a regrettable fact that the acts of our 
people have not always been on this high plane. 
Laws have been passed sometimes not in har¬ 
mony with the purpose of the Constitution, 
and the government one time came very near 
being wrecked because the people forgot this 
high purpose. The North and the South forgot 
Washington’s advice, and jealousies arose. Then 
the people of the two sections developed a 
hatred for one another over the question of 
states’ rights, the tariff, and slavery; and 
finally they went to war. Both sides suffered 
greatly. Thousands of homes were wrecked, 
many thousands of lives were lost, and millions 
of dollars’ worth of property was destroyed. 
The purpose of the Constitution had been 
violated. But near the conclusion of the war, 
Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United 
States, thinking of the welfare of all the people, 
displayed the spirit of a true American when 
he said in his second inaugural address: “With 
malice toward none, with charity for all, with 


i66 


Our Dual Government 


firmness in the right, as God gives us to see 
the right, let us strive on to finish the work we 
are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care 
for him who shall have borne the battle and 
for his widow and orphans, to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and a 
lasting peace among ourselves and with all 
nations.” 

And when the war was practically over, he 
said: “I hope there will be no persecutions, no 
bloody work, after the war is over. No one 
need expect me to take any part in hanging 
or killing these men, even the worst of them.” 
That evening he was assassinated. No other 
ruler in all history had shown such a kindly 
and friendly attitude to a defeated foe. He had 
the true American spirit that was breathed into 
the Constitution by Washington, Franklin, and 
others. 

It took the country many years to recover 
from the war. But after a period of nearly 
sixty years we have a greater Union. The 
sectional differences that Washington saw are 
disappearing, and our government of the people, 
for the people, and by the people holds up to 
the world its high purposes and expects each 
citizen to be an active, honest, and moral 
member -^-self-reliant, self-governing, respecting 
law and order. 


True Americanism 


167 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

In teaching American history the teacher should 
always keep in mind the purposes of our government. 
Pupils should be led to answer all of the following 
questions: 

Did it establish justice? 

Did it insure domestic tranquillity? 

Did it provide for the common defense ? 

Did it promote general welfare? 

Did it secure the blessings of liberty ? 

If it did none of them, or if it violated even one, how 
far did the people depart from the ways of a just govern¬ 
ment, and how did it affect the Union? 

The same standard may be used in judging the govern¬ 
ment of the school, or of a town, a county, or a state. 


CHAPTER XIV 


Makers of the Nation 

Who are the makers of the nation? Every 
man, woman, and child living under our country’s 
protection is either helping to make the nation 
better and greater, or hindering the growth 
of true Americanism. The child in school 
who is seeking to become a better citizen; 
the father and mother in the home, who are 
making a better life for all that live under their 
roof; the workers in the fields, stores, mines, 
shops, and factories who are making an honest 
living and giving justice to all others with 
whom they work or compete; the lawyer, the 
physician, and the preacher who seek to lead 
the way for a great respect for law and order 
and a better citizenship — all are the makers 
of the nation. They are promoting the general 
welfare. The real makers of the nation should 
respect our flag, and should feel a patriotic 
thrill when the national hymn is sung. 

The nation cannot be great unless the small 
communities in every state in the Union are 
great. Therefore it is the duty of the people 
in and around every school to have the true 


168 


Makers of the Nation 


169 


American spirit; otherwise the nation as a whole 
cannot be true to the purpose of the Constitu¬ 
tion. Wherever there 'is mob law, wherever 
there are serious jealousies and much discord, 
the state and the nation are in danger of depart¬ 
ing from the purpose of the Constitution. 

Whenever a child will not obey the laws of 
the school, he may be removed. Whenever a 
man or a woman will not obey the laws of the 
state or nation, he or she may be imprisoned. 
This is the way in our land of self-government 
that we keep the enemies of our school, our state, 
our nation, from destroying our government. 

The nation’s flag. Why should we show so 
much respect for our flag? When watching a 
great parade and seeing the flag waving over 
all, why do the people raise their hats and 
cheer? It represents the Constitution and the 
power of our nation. It stands for union, for 
justice, for domestic tranquillity, for our com¬ 
mon defense, for the general welfare of all, and 
for liberty. 

Our nation of more than a hundred million 
people places its faith and its hope of future 
prosperity in the flag. It guarantees to the 
people the equal right to live, to work, and to 
enjoy themselves. It represents the spirit of 
our people, which was derived more than a 
hundred years ago from the lives of men like 


170 


Our Dual Government 



Daniel Boone and John Chapman, Benjamin 
Franklin and Samuel Adams, George Washington 


CAMP FIRE GIRLS SALUTING THE FLAG 

and Thomas Jefferson, and many others who 
worked with them. 

Woodrow Wilson, one of our great presidents, 
said of the Stars and Stripes: “This flag which 
we honor and under which we serve, is the 



Makers of the Nation 


171 


emblem of our unity, our power, our thought 
and purpose as a nation. It has no other 
character than that which we give it from 
generation to generation. The choices are ours. 
It floats in majestic silence above the hosts 
that execute those choices, whether in peace or 
in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to 
us — speaks to us of the past — of the men and 
women who went before us and of the records 
they wrote upon it.” 

Makers of the flag. The makers of the flag, 
therefore, are the makers of the nation. A 
story of how the flag is made has been told 
so well by Franklin K. Lane, secretary of the 
interior in President Wilson’s cabinet, that it is 
repeated here: 

Makers or the Flag 

This morning, as I passed into the Land Office, The Flag 
dropped me a most cordial salutation, and from its rippling 
folds I heard it say: “Good morning, Mr. Flag Maker.” 

“I beg your pardon, Old Glory,” I said, “aren’t you mis¬ 
taken? I am not the President of the United States, nor a 
member of Congress, nor even a general in the army. I am 
only a Government clerk.” 

“I greet you again, Mr. Flag Maker,” replied the gay 
voice. “I know you well. You are the man who worked in 
thejswelter of yesterday straightening out the tangle of that 
farmer’s homestead in Idaho, or perhaps you found the mistake 
in that Indian contract in Oklahoma, or helped to clear that 
patent for the hopeful inventor in New York, or pushed 
the opening of that new ditch in Colorado, or made that 
mine in Illinois more safe, or brought relief to the old soldier in 
Wyoming. No matter; whichever one of these beneficent 


172 


Our Dual Government 


individuals you may happen to be, I give you greeting, Mr. 
Flag Maker.” 

I was about to pass on, when The Flag stopped me with 
these words: 

“Yesterday the President spoke a word that made happier 
the future of ten million peons in Mexico; but that act looms 
no larger on the flag than the struggle which the boy in Georgia 
is making to win the Com Club prize this summer. 

“Yesterday the Congress spoke a word which will open the 
door of Alaska; but a mother in Michigan worked from sunrise 
until far into the night, to give her boy an education. She, too, 
is making the flag. 

“Yesterday we made a new law to prevent financial panics, 
and yesterday, maybe, a school teacher in Ohio taught his 
first letters to a boy who will one day write a song that will give 
cheer to the millions of our race. We are all making the flag.” 

“But,” I said impatiently, “these people were only working! ” 

Then came a great shout from The Flag: 

“The work that we do is the making of the flag. 

“I am not the flag; not at all. I am but its shadow. 

“I am whatever you make me, nothing more. 

“I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a People 
may become. 

“I live a changing life, a life of moods and passions, of 
heartbreaks and tired muscles. 

“Sometimes I am strong with pride, when men do an honest 
work, fitting the rails together truly. 

“Sometimes I droop, for then purpose has gone from me, 
and cynically I play the coward. 

“Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full of that ego that 
blasts judgment. 

“But always, I am all that you hope to be, and have the 
courage to try for. 

“I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope. 

“I am the day’s work of the weakest man, and the largest 
dream of the most daring. 

“I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and the 
statute makers, soldier and dreadnaught, drayman and street 
sweep, cool counselor, and clerk. 



Makers of the Nation • 173 

“I am the battle of yesterday, and the mistake of tomorrow. 

“ I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why. 

“I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of 
resolution:. 

“I am no more than what you believe / me to be and I am 
all that you believe I can be. 

“I am what you make me, nothing more. 

“I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol 
of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes 
this nation. My stars and my stripes are your dream and your 
labors. They are bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm 
with faith, because you have made them so out of your hearts. 
For you are the makers of the flag and it is well that you glory 
in the making.” 


Photograph from Brown Broa 

PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG 

How to salute the flag. Every school should 
have a flag, and the pupils should know how to 
salute it. The following has been accepted 
as a good form of salute for all school children: 




174 


Our Dual Government 


Standing with face to the flag and with the 
right hand at the forehead, the pupils repeat: 

“I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the 
Republic for which it stands, one nation, indi¬ 
visible, with liberty and justice for all!” 

While the pledge is being repeated, the 
students stand with the right palm downward, 
parallel with the forehead, until the word 11 flag ’ ’ 
is reached, then the arm is extended toward the 
flag, palm upward, and this position is main¬ 
tained until the pledge is completed. 

Flag rules. Congress, in 1818, decided on the 
form of the flag which should represent this 
nation. At that time there were only twenty 
states in the Union. The law T declared that the 
flag of the United States shall consist of thirteen 
horizontal stripes, alternate red and white, 
and that the union shall have twenty stars, 
white in a blue field. But since there were only 
twenty states representing the Union, it pro¬ 
vided further that on the admission of every 
new state into the Union one star shall be added 
to the union of the flag, and that such addition 
shall take effect on the Fourth of July next 
succeeding such admission. Since that time 
twenty-eight states have been added to the 
Union. Therefore, today there are forty-eight 
stars in the union of the flag. 

The following are important flag rules: 



Makers of the Nation 175 

i. When a flag is passing in parade or in 
review, the spectator if sitting, should rise, and 
if walking, should halt. When the flag passes, 
the boy or man should remove his hat. 


Girl Reserve Ceremonial at Camp Neuseoco, Y. W. C. A Raleigh, N. C. 

SALUTE TO THE FLAG 

2. When the flag is being raised it should fly 
free, and it should always fly from the top of the 
masthead, except when it is lowered in case of 
a death. 

3. The flag should not be permitted to fly 
at night, except over the national Capitol, and 




176 


Our Dual Government 


in times of peace it is not displayed every 
day, except on schoolhouses and government 
buildings. 

4. When the flag is used as a decoration it 
should not be hung where it can be soiled easily, 
nor should it be draped on chairs and benches 
for seating purposes. No emblem of any kind 
should be placed upon it and no one should use 
it for advertising purposes. 

5. When the flag is lowered, it should never be 
permitted to touch the ground, and when it is 
worn too much for further use, it should either 
be put away carefully or burned. It should 
never be thrown out for people or animals to 
walk on. 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
Who are the real makers of the nation in your school, 
in your community, in your state? Discuss this with the 
pupils and show why they are the real makers of the 
nation. Teach the pupils how to salute the flag and how 
to use it and respect it properly. 


CHAPTER XV 


Our National Hymn 

The author of the national hymn. The 

“Star-Spangled Banner” is our national hymn, 
and every child should learn to sing it and under¬ 
stand its meaning. It was written by Francis 
Scott Key, a young lawyer of Maryland, who 
was born in 1780. 

In 1814, during our second war with Great 
Britain, an American patriot was captured by 
the British and was held captive on a war vessel 
lying in Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore. Key 
was permitted by our government to intercede 
in behalf of the prisoner. Although the British 
were preparing to bombard Fort McHenry, 
near Baltimore, they permitted Key and a com¬ 
panion to board the vessel. After a time they 
agreed to release the captive, but they would 
not permit the Americans to leave the vessel 
until after the battle, lest Key and his compan¬ 
ions should tell the plans of the British to the 
patriots. 

How the “Star-Spangled Banner” was written. 

All night Key and his companion walked 
the deck of the vessel. So terrible had been 


12 


1 77 


178 


Our Dual Government 


the bombardment that they could not see how 
it was possible for the fort to stand. At dawn 
the Americans watched eagerly for the flag. 
The mist was so thick they could not see the 
fort. But suddenly the fog broke and they 
were delighted to see the flag still flying, a sure 
sign that the British had failed to silence the 
guns of the fort. “Thrilled by the sight of 
the flag,” it is said, “Key wrote the greater part 
of his poem in a few minutes, on the back of an 
unfinished letter and completed the stanzas that 
night in a Baltimore hotel.” 

The Star-Spangled Banner 

FRANCIS SCOTT KEY 

O say! can you see, by the dawn’s early light, 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, 
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming; 

And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; 

O say, does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, 
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, 

What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep, 

As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses? 

Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam. 

In full glory reflected now shines in the 'stream: 

’Tis the Star-Spangled Banner; 0 long may it wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 


Our National Hymn 


179 


0 thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand 

Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation; 

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land 
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! 
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 

And this be our motto: “In God is our trust”; 

And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

Teach the children how to sing the “Star-Spangled 
Banner” and to understand its meaning. Teach them 
how to salute it, and what their duty is when the flag is 
passing. See pages 175 and 176. 


CHAPTER XVI 


The American's Creed 

The origin of the creed. The idea of empha¬ 
sizing the duties and obligations of citizens in 
the form of a national creed was originated in 
1916. Patriotic citizens inaugurated a contest to 
secure the best summary of the political faith of 
America. The plans were approved by Presi¬ 
dent Wilson, and a prize of $1,000 was offered 
by the city of Baltimore. The winner was Mr. 
William Tyler Page, of Maryland, a descendant 
of President John Tyler, of Virginia. The Creed 
received wide-spread approval, was adopted by 
Congress, April 3, 1918, and before its mem¬ 
bers was read in public for the first time by the 
United States Commissioner of Education, who 
officially commended it as “a Creed worthy to 
be learned and accepted as a guide to action 
by all Americans.” The speaker of the House 
of Representatives formally accepted it in the 
name of the government of the United States. 

The Creed 

I believe in the United States of America as a government 
of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers 
are derived from the consent of the governed: 

180 


The American's Creed 


181 


A Democracy in a Republic; 

A Sovereign Nation of many Sovereign States; 

A perfect Union, one and inseparable, established upon those 
principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity, for 
which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. 

I, therefore, believe it my duty to my country to love it, to 
support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, 
and to defend it against all enemies. 

Purpose of the American Legion. The Ameri¬ 
can Legion, a patriotic organization composed 
of veterans of the World War, believing that 
good citizenship can be preserved only when 
based on a proper respect for law and order and 
guided by a spirit of cooperation based on 
mutual helpfulness, sets forth in the preamble 
to its constitution its exalted purpose, as follows: 

For God and Country, we associate ourselves together for 
the following purposes: 

To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States 
of America; 

To maintain law and order; 

To foster and perpetuate a one-hundred per cent Amer¬ 
icanism; 

To preserve the memories and incidents of our association 
in the Great War; 

To inculcate a sense of individual obligatiod to the com¬ 
munity, state, and nation; 

To combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses; 

To make right the master of might; 

To promote peace and good will on earth; 

To safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of 
justice, freedom, and democracy; 

To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion 
to mutual helpfulness. 


182 


Our Dual Government 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

“The American’s Creed” should be memorized by all 
pupils, but teachers should require them first to study 
it carefully until its meaning is thoroughly understood. 
Its thought is taken from some of the best expressions of 
our ablest political writers. For example: 

1. “A government of the people, by the people, for the 
people” is derived from the last sentence of Lincoln’s 
Gettysburg Address. 

2. “Just powers are derived from the consent of the 
governed.” This expression comes from the first part of 
the Declaration of Independence. ' 

3. “A perfect Union, one and inseparable.” The 
“Nature of the Union” was a subject much discussed 
in the early part of the nineteenth century, and this 
expression is from the last paragraph of Webster’s 
famous speech in reply to Hayne on this subject. 

4. “Established upon those principles of freedom, 
equality, justice, and humanity.” This thought is in 
harmony with the Preamble to the Constitution. 

In studying “The American’s Creed” the pupil should 
reread the original addresses and documents. 

Patriotic organizations such as the American Legion 
feel that it is necessary constantly to hold up before the 
people of our country the importance of fostering a 
greater respect for law and order and a spirit of coopera¬ 
tion. If adults feel the responsibility so keenly, it would 
be a dereliction of duty for teachers to neglect to serve 
this generation in a matter so important. It would also 
be helpful for teachers to study the purposes of other 
patriotic organizations in order that they may see how 
determined the people are to preserve that which makes 
this nation so gre&t and powerful. 


CHAPTER XVII 

Makers of Our State Government 

The pioneers of North Carolina. It was 

stated in the first chapter that we have a dual 
form of government, the state and the national. 
We have seen how the colonies developed into 
states and how the states came together and 
formed one great nation. We should emphasize 
the fact that the people of the colonies had 
been studying government in a practical way 
for more than a hundred years before they were 
called upon to work out a great national gov¬ 
ernment. For example: Virginia’s government 
began in 1607. The colonists of Virginia were 
therefore studying how to govern themselves 
for a period covering one hundred and sixty- 
nine years before independence was declared. 

North Carolina was also one of the original 
thirteen states. About fifty years after the 
settlement was made in Jamestown, pioneers 
from Virginia found their way through the wil¬ 
derness into North Carolina, and in 1664 a gov¬ 
ernment was organized in this new colony. 
The colonists of North Carolina therefore 
were working away at the great problem of 
183 


184 


Our Dual Government 



self-government for a hundred and twelve years 
before the independence of America was declared. 


FT. RALEIGH, ROANOKE ISLAND. 1584-1591 
Here Sir Walter Raleigh planted his first colony 

For several years after the pioneers first 
entered the territory around Albemarle Sound 
they had no organized government at all. Like 
Robinson Crusoe, they built their homes where 
they were able to secure suitable places. They 
cleared the land and raised sufficient corn for 
bread. They hunted the game, which was 
abundant, and caught fish from the rivers and 
the sound. They made their own clothes, 
traded with the Indians, and were prosperous. 
Many returning to the Virginia colony told of 
the fine hunting ground toward the south. Like 
Daniel Boone, they led the way for other settlers 
who moved southward from Virginia in large 







Makers of Our State Government 185 

numbers. It is easy to see, therefore, that 
the early colonists in North Carolina developed 
self-reliance and enjoyed the widest freedom 
even before any government was created in the 
new territory. 

Kind of government. Several years after the 
first settlements were made near Albemarle 
Sound, the^king of England gave all this new 
territory to eight of his friends, called proprie¬ 
tors. A governor was sent from England into 
the new colony in 1664, and soon afterward 
the people were directed to form an assembly 
and aid in enacting laws for the good of the 
colony. 

The governor selected six men from the colony 
to advise him. It is probable that all the free¬ 
men in the colony composed the first assembly. 
They met either at the governor’s house or at 
a more convenient place, and together decided 
on the important laws that should govern them. 
Later, in 1667, the freemen were directed to 
elect twelve men to represent them. Thus 
they began to make their own laws, and for 
more than a hundred years before this colony 
became a state they worked away at the task, 
learning how to enact laws for the benefit of all 
the people, and teaching one another the value 
of law and order. 

Who were the early colonists? The first 
settlers in the colony of Carolina were English- 


i86 


Our Dual Government 



men who came from England direct, or from 
some other English colony. Later the people of 


OLDEST CHURCH IN NORTH CAROLINA 
St. Thomas. Chapel, Church of England, built 1734, at Bath oldest town in the state 

other countries sought homes here. A number 
of French settlers located near Pamlico Sound. 
A large company of Swiss settled on the Neuse 
River; groups of Irish found homes in what 
is now Duplin County; people from Scotland 
settled on Cape Fear River; a large number of 
Scotch-Irish from Ireland found homes in the 
middle and southern portion of the state. 
Moravians from Germany came to what is now 
Forsyth County; and many Germans from other 
parts of that country settled in what is now 
Lincoln and adjoining counties. 

Many of these settlers at first did not speak 
the English language. They could not readily 



Makers of Our State Government 187 

understand one another’s needs. But these 
different settlements were so far apart that each 
governed itself and was self-reliant. As the terri¬ 
tory now known as North Carolina became more 
thickly settled, the people representing different 
nationalities or forming separate groups of settle¬ 
ments were bound more closely together. 
They all learned to speak the same language and 
to understand one another’s needs, and by 1776 
had united in forming a prosperous colony. 

Cooperation with other colonies. The people 
of North Carolina frequently had trouble with 
their own governors. The assembly expelled 
one from the colony and frequently voted to 
ignore the laws that were enacted in England 
for its guidance. The people learned early the 
value of cooperation. They worked together 
studying their needs and frequently united to 
resist unjust laws made in England. They 
joined with South Carolina in fighting the 
Indians, and united with Virginia in the French 
and Indian War. They cooperated with Massa¬ 
chusetts when the British sent troops to Boston, 
and even sent a boatload of food to that besieged 
city. They sent delegates to the first provincial 
Congress, and finally instructed their delegates 
to vote for independence in the second pro¬ 
vincial Congress. And on July 4, 1776, North 
Carolina delegates carried out these directions 
and signed the Declaration of Independence. 


i88 


Our Dual Government 


For more than a hundred years the people had 
been cooperating for the purpose of promoting 
the public welfare. Therefore when independ¬ 
ence was declared they were thoroughly com¬ 
petent to manage their own affairs through a 
form of government that has protected the 
liberty of the people. 

The state of North Carolina. After inde¬ 
pendence was declared, each of the thirteen 
colonies became a state. Then it became neces¬ 
sary for each to change its form of government. 
The governors of the colonies were appointed 
in England and had large powers. This was 
the cause of much of the trouble. How would 
the governors be elected now that the colonies 
had become states? 

A Constitutional Convention was called to 
consider this very important question. It met 
in Halifax in November, 1776, about four 
months after independence had been declared, 
and on the eighteenth of December the new 
state constitution was adopted. 

It provided for three separate departments 
of government: the legislative, the executive, 
and the judicial. (1) It was provided that the 
General Assembly should meet annually and 
should be composed of two houses, a Senate 
and a House of Commons. Each county was 
allowed one senator and two members of the 


Makers of Our State Government 


189 


House of Commons. The towns of Edenton, ^ 
Newbem, Wilmington, Halifax, Hillsboro, and 
Salisbury were each allowed one member in the 
House of Commons. The people’s representa¬ 
tives would now make all the laws for their 
own government. (2) It was provided that 
the executive department should be composed 
of a governor, a secretary, and a council of 
seven members, all of whom were to be elected 
annually by the General Assembly. (3) The 
judicial body was composed of certain courts 
and judges, and it was provided that the 
General Assembly should determine the number 
of courts and should select, or provide for the 
selection of, the judges. 

After the Constitution was adopted, the Con¬ 
vention elected Richard Caswell governor and 
selected the secretary and the council of state 
as his advisers, and the new state government 
began to function at once. 

All the power that hitherto had been exer¬ 
cised by the government in England was 
transferred to the General Assembly. This 
was the great change made when the colony 
of North Carolina became the state of North 
Carolina. Since that time, the constitution 
has been frequently amended to meet the 
changes demanded by the people. Its present 
form is given in the next chapter. 


Our Dual Government 


190 

Adopting the national Constitution. We have 
already seen how necessary it was to create a 
national government through a union of all the 
states. When the Constitutional Convention 
was called to meet in Philadelphia in 1787, 
Dr. Hugh Williamson, William Blount, William 
R. Davie, Alexander Martin, and Richard 
Dobbs Speight were selected as the delegates 
from North Carolina. They sat in the con¬ 
vention and aided the delegates from the other 
twelve states to work out that great document, 
and after signing it they returned home to 
persuade North Carolina to adopt it. 

The General Assembly of North Carolina 
directed a special convention to be called at 
Hillsboro in July, 1788, to consider the national 
Constitution. On July 21 two hundred and 
eighty-four members met in the Presbyterian 
church in Hillsboro. They debated the Consti¬ 
tution for several days, but finally voted not to 
adopt it. The majority believed that a Bill of 
Rights for safeguarding the liberties of the people 
should be added to the Constitution. North 
Carolina therefore was one of the states that 
refused to adopt the national Constitution until 
the Bill of Rights (p. 105) was submitted to 
the other states for adoption. 

The friends of the Constitution, however, 
saw difficulties ahead of North Carolina if it 


Makers of Our State Government 191 

remained out of the Union. Trouble with the 
Indians and trade relations with pecTple of other 
states made it necessary for North Carolina 
sooner or later to become a part of the new 
nation. A second convention, therefore, was 
called to meet in Fayetteville in November, 
1789. After a heated discussion, covering a 
period of five days, the following resolution 
ratifying the Constitution was adopted, Novem¬ 
ber 21, 1789: 

Whereas, The General Convention which met in Phila¬ 
delphia in issuance of a recommendation of Congress did recom¬ 
mend to the citizens of the United States a constitution, or form 
of government, in the following words: [Here follows the 
Constitution.] 

Resolved , That this convention, in behalf of the freemen, 
citizens, and inhabitants of the state of North Carolina, do 
adopt and ratify the said Constitution and form of government. 

A copy of the resolution was sent to President 
Washington who, in his message to Congress, 
expressed his congratulations upon “the recent 
accession of the important state of North 
Carolina to the Constitution of the United 
States.” 

The United States Senate replied as follows: 
“The accession of the state of North Carolina 
to the Constitution of the United States gives 
us much pleasure, and we offer you our congratu¬ 
lations upon that event, which at the same time 
adds strength to our Union and affords a proof 


192 


Our Dual Government 


that the more the Constitution has been consid¬ 
ered the more the goodness of it has appeared.” 



THE STATE CAPITOL AT RALEIGH 


The House of Representatives also sent the 
following to President Washington: “We recip¬ 
rocate your congratulations on the accession 
of the state of North Carolina, an event, which, 
while it is a testimony of the increasing good¬ 
will towards the government of the United 
States, cannot fail to give additional dignity and 
strength to the American republic, already ris¬ 
ing in the estimation of the world in national 
character and respectability.” 

Promoting the welfare of the people. When 
the people of North Carolina adopted the 
national Constitution, they likewise accepted 
its purpose as stated in the Preamble. Then 





Makers of Our State Government 193 

how have they made North Carolina one of the 
greatest states in the nation? 

1. By preserving law m and order . Freedom, 
happiness, and prosperity are impossible wher¬ 
ever people do not respect the laws of the country 
or where they fail to cooperate in preserving order. 
The state is very active in promoting harmony 
among her people, and life and property are com¬ 
paratively safe. Responsible citizens have been 
taught to keep their contracts and to avoid acts 
of carelessness and negligence that injure other 
people. The law requires our people to maintain 
certain standards of honesty and to avoid 
immoral acts that affect the well-being of our 
citizens. Pupils in school should realize that 
life on the streets, along the highways, and even 
in the homes would be very unsafe if the great 
force of the state were not always exerted to 
preserve the liberties of the people. It is easy 
to see what would happen if the school had no 
law and each one did only what it pleased him 
to do. The first duty of a citizen therefore is to 
respect the laws of his state and of his com¬ 
munity. In this way he can help in making a 
greater state. 

2. By protecting our people from mob violence. 
When a group of people becomes lawless and sets 
out to do harm in a community, mob violence 
results. Wherever this occurs, the purpose of 

13 


194 


Our Dual Government 


the Constitution is violated, the freedom of the 
people is in danger, the home is threatened, and 
the welfare of all the people is injured. Some¬ 
times the governor calls out the militia to pre¬ 
vent mob violence and to maintain order. 

Just laws are made or authorized by the Gen¬ 
eral Assembly, which is the first department of 
our government. The laws are executed by the 
executive department, and justice is preserved 
through our courts, which constitute the judicial 
department. Wherever the men of any group 
undertake, on their own initiative, to pass laws 
for any other group of people, or to judge the 
conduct of people and punish them, they are 
destroying our government, and no one is safe. 
They are the greatest enemies to our state 
because they are helping to break down our 
government. 

3. By providing public schools. A great state 
must have moral and intelligent citizens capable 
of making wise laws and developing the national 
resources. Ignorant men and women with low 
ideals cannot always know what is right nor 
can they know how to work to the best advan¬ 
tage. The American Indians had lived here 
hundreds of years before the first pioneers 
settled near Albemarle Sound. But this was 
not a great state until it had wise and patriotic 
people. 


Makers of Our State Government 195 

In order that all people may have the oppor¬ 
tunity to develop and become intelligent the 



HOME DEMONSTRATION CLUB FOR GIRLS 

The Home Demonstration Club work is the result of the Club Leaders' Short 
Course held at the State College in Raleigh 


state has provided a public school system. Large 
consolidated schools and well-equipped high 
schools are found in every county. A univer¬ 
sity and colleges for men and women are main¬ 
tained. All of these seek to give higher training 
in the vocations and professions in order that 
our people may be self-reliant and self-governing, 
and that they may appreciate the value of law 
and order. Our schools are our greatest factors 
in making a great state. 








196 


Our Dual Government 


4. By encouraging agriculture. The state 
spends many thousands of dollars annually to 
promote agriculture. It maintains agricultural 
colleges to give instruction in better methods of 
cultivating the soil, in gardening and fruit 
growing, in preserving the forests of the state 
and utilizing other natural resources, in poultry 
production and in the production of the most 
useful animals. % 

The state supports a great department of 
agriculture which aids the farmers in securing 
the best fertilizer, in destroying insects that 
damage the crops, and in cooperating in many 



JERSEY CATTLE CLUB FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 

other ways with the people of the state. As a 
result North Carolina is one of the best agricul¬ 
tural states in the Union, and its people can 



Makers of Our State Government 


197 


raise a greater variety of valuable products 
than any other state in the Union. 



BEFORE THE STATE HIGHWAY WAS BUILT 


5. By building good roads. Many years ago 
the state began to build canals for the people to 
use in transporting their goods. Then it helped 
to build railroads for the same purpose, and 
within recent years it has spent large sums of 
money in constructing good roads, which give 
the people a better opportunity to travel more 
easily, to associate with their neighbors, to build 
large consolidated high schools, and to sell in 
the best markets the products of the farm. The 
action of the state in building good roads is 
greatly promoting the welfare of our people. 

It is the duty of the school to put forth every 
effort to preserve and beautify the great high¬ 
ways of the state in order that North Carolina 



Our Dual Government 


198 


may become more beautiful while the people are 
enjoying a greater prosperity. 



AFTER THE STATE HIGHWAY WAS BUILT 


6 . By protecting our fisheries. Our state is 
attempting to protect the benefits that may be 
derived from our rivers and sounds. We have 
rich beds of oysters that may become very 
valuable through a little cultivation, and our 
rivers and sounds abound in many valuable fish 
which are already contributing to our pros¬ 
perity. The state is spending annually large 
sums of money to protect our fish and oysters 
and to develop them in such a way that still 
greater prosperity may come to all the people. 

Our schools should teach both pupils and 
parents the value of our rivers and our sounds 
and how the fisheries of the state may be 
made still more valuable. 



Makers of Our State Government 199 

7. By protecting the health of our people. The 
state maintains a great department of health 
and spends many thousands of dollars annually 
to make North Carolina a healthful state. It 
instructs the people in sanitation and hygiene 
and requires the thoughtless and careless to 
observe certain health laws. It seeks to correct 
physical defects in children, giving free treatment 
to those who desire to profit by this service. It 
requires school officers to keep the school grounds 
and buildings sanitary, and the homes likewise 
,must observe similar sanitary regulations. 

Through the activity of our health officials, 
some of our most deadly diseases, such as. small¬ 
pox, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and yellow fever, 
have become less harmful, and our people are 
healthier and better able to work and to enjoy 
the results of their own labors. 

8 . By caring for the unfortunate. The state 
provides a home and training school for little 
children who are homeless, for those who are 
deaf, dumb, or blind, for those who are men¬ 
tally defective, and for those who have been led 
into immoral or illegal conduct. It also main¬ 
tains a hospital for crippled children where 
thqy can be treated and made to walk and run 
the same as other children. 

It provides great hospitals for men and women 
who have serious mental afflictions. There 


200 


Our Dual Government 


they may be made well or at least comfortable 
for life. The state also maintains a well- 
equipped hospital where people afflicted with 
tuberculosis may be treated. As a result the 
number dying from this disease has been 
greatly reduced. 

9. By protecting the people in other ways. 
The state seeks to protect the people from dis¬ 
honest agents who might sell worthless goods. 
It inspects our larger buildings and requires the 
owners to safeguard them against fires in order 
that those living or working in them may not 
lose their lives through fire. It compels care¬ 
less owners of factories to protect their workers 
from dangerous machinery, and in a number of 
other ways it seeks to promote the welfare of the 
people. 

10. By providing for local government. The 
state is too large to render all this valuable serv¬ 
ice without the cooperation of all the people. 
In order, therefore, to secure the cooperation of 
as many people as possible, the state is divided 
into counties, towns, townships, and districts, 
and the duties are divided and subdivided until 
the number of people holding some kind of pub¬ 
lic position and rendering some kind of public 
service in North Carolina comes to more than 
50,000. Many are serving without pay, such as 
school committees and members of hospital 


Makers of Our State Government 201 

boards. Many are paid only a few dollars a 
year, such as jurors and county commissioners, 
while others who spend all of their zeal and 
energy for the public good are paid for full¬ 
time service. 

Besides those who hold some kind of public 
office the majority of the people give advice 
and suggestions that help to shape the laws for 
the guidance of the people and to execute the 
laws in the interest of good government. 

It is the right of every child to become an 
honest, intelligent citizen, and the duty of the 
county and the state to provide the opportunity. 
How then can each child aid the state in main¬ 
taining a better government? Those who help 
to keep their own community clean, healthful, 
and beautiful, and free from lawlessness are 
helping to make a greater state. For it is the 
sum of all the communities that makes the 
state. 

Taxation. All these benefits are purchased 
with money contributed by the citizens of the 
state. When people pay their taxes they are 
cooperating in order to help purchase many 
things that they cannot easily secure in any 
other way. The district, the township, the 
town, the county, and the state—each pur¬ 
chases those things that can be purchased only 
by it. 


202 


Our Dual Government 


So many people are employed in our govern¬ 
ment, so many things are attempted, and so 
many millions of dollars are spent annually for 
the public good that it is absolutely essential 
for our people to be honest and intelligent in 
order that our taxes may purchase the greatest 
number of benefits and that they may be dis¬ 
tributed justly over all the people. If the 
people are not reliable, if they do not desire 
to cooperate, if they have no interest in the 
welfare of one another, it is impossible for the 
state to supply any of these benefits. 

The most valuable lesson, therefore, that a 
pupil in school can learn is honesty, industry, 
and a spirit of cooperation. These qualities 
are absolutely essential in the making of a 
great man or woman, and we cannot have a 
great state if we do not have great men and 
women. 

Our state government touches the lives of 
our people in many ways. It is our duty, 
therefore, to support its laws; to select good 
men to represent us in the legislature and the 
executive and judicial departments; to take 
no part in mob uprisings, but encourage all 
people to work for a good government which is 
necessary for the growth of liberty. Freedom 
is restricted by lawlessness and disorder. How 
much greater would our state be if all the taxes 


Makers of Our State Government 203 

paid could be spent for better schools and for 
promoting in many other ways the public good! 

Our state flag. Every boy and girl, every 
man and woman, in North Carolina should 
respect our state flag. It . represents North 
Carolina—-its power, its people, its resources, 
and the opportunities it offers its citizens. 

If you wish to know who are the makers of 
our flag, re-read the story by Franklin K. Lane 
(chap, xiv). The people are making the national 
flag while they are making the state flag. 

Our state flag is divided into three nearly 
equal parts, representing the three colors in the 
national flag—red, white, and blue. The first 
part next to the staff is the blue field, which 
contains in the center a white star representing 
North Carolina in the nation. It also has two 
dates: May 20, 1775; April 12, 1776. 

The first date represents the action of people 
in Mecklenburg County in resolving to be free 
and independent of the English government. 
The second date marks the day when the Halifax 
Convention directed the North Carolina mem¬ 
bers in the Constitutional Congress to vote for 
a Declaration of Independence, which act they 
performed on July 4, 1776. 

Our state song. Our state song, “The Old 
North State,” was written by Judge William 
Gaston, August, 1840. During a great political 


204 


Our Dual Government 


convention, assembled in the open air on the 
west side of the Capitol, some foreign minstrels 
produced an air that pleased the Convention. 
The ladies present desired appropriate words for 
it, and that night Judge Gaston wrote the words 
given below. On the next day, when the Con¬ 
vention was assembled, it was sung, to the great 
delight of that immense crowd. 

The Old North State 

Carolina! Carolina! Heaven’s blessings attend her! 

While we live we will cherish, protect and defend her; 
t Though the scomer may sneer at and witlings defame her, 
Our hearts swell with gladness whenever we name her. 

Hurrah! Hurrah! the Old North State forever! 

Hurrah! Hurrah! the good Old North State! 

Though she envies not others their merited glory, 

Say, whose name stands the foremost in Liberty’s story? 
Though too true to herself e’er to crouch to oppression, 

Who can yield to just rule more loyal submission? 

Plain and artless her sons, but whose doors open faster 
At the knock of a stranger, or the tale of disaster? 

How like to the rudeness of their dear native mountains, 
With rich ore in their bosoms and life in their fountains. 

And her daughters, the Queen of the Forest resembling — 
So graceful, so constant, yet to gentlest breath trembling; 
And true lightwood at heart, let the match be applied them, 
How they kindle and flame! Oh! none know but who’ve 
tried them. 

Then let all who love us, love the land that we live in 
(As happy a region as on this side of Heaven), 

Where Plenty and Freedom, Love and Peace smile before us, 
Raise aloud, raise together, the heart-thrilling chorus! 


Makers of Our State Government 


205 


SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 

How is the district, township, or town governed in 
which the school is located? How can the pupils help to 
maintain this government and even to improve it ? When 
people damage the good roads, or school buildings, or the 
public property, they are damaging property that their 
parents helped to pay for through the taxes paid to the 
government. Whenever the law is broken the people 
must pay the officers that hold the courts. The govern¬ 
ment belongs to the people. They pay for it. If no one 
broke the laws the cost of government would be much 
smaller, people would have more freedom, and the state 
could increase materially its benefits. 

What can the school do to make a more beautiful 
North Carolina? Are the school buildings kept clean 
and free from defacements? Are the school grounds 
properly laid out and made attractive, having the play¬ 
ground in the right place and trees and flowers properly 
planted and tended ? Are the new highways being made 
more attractive? 


CHAPTER XVIII 


Constitution of the State of 
North Carolina 

[Note. —The teacher should read this Constitution with the 
pupils and point out the divisions of state government and explain 
the purpose of each.] 

PREAMBLE 

We, the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to 
Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the preser¬ 
vation of the American Union, and the existence of our civil, 
political and religious liberties, and acknowledging our depend¬ 
ence upon Him for the continuance of those blessings to us and 
our posterity, do for the more certain security thereof, and for 
the better government of this State, ordain and establish this 
Constitution. 

ARTICLE I 

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 

That the great, general and essential principles of liberty and 
free government may be recognized and established, and that 
the relations of this State to the Union and Government of the 
United States, and those of the people of this State to the rest 
of the American people, may be defined and affirmed, we do 
declare: 

Section i. That we hold it to be self-evident that all men 
are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with 
certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the 
enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of 
happiness. 

Sec. 2. That all political power is vested in, and derived 
from, the people; all government of right originates from the 


206 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 207 

people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely 
for the good of the whole. 

Sec. 3. That the people of this State have the inherent, 
sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government 
and policy thereof, and of altering and abolishing their Consti¬ 
tution and form of government whenever it may be necessary 
for their safety and happiness; but every such right should be 
exercised in pursuance of law, and consistently with the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States. 

Sec. 4. That this State shall ever remain a member of the 
American Union; that the people thereof are a part of the 
American nation; that there is no right on the part of the State 
to secede, and that all attempts, from whatever source or upon 
whatever pretext, to dissolve said Union, or to sever said nation, 
ought to be resisted with the whole power of the State. 

Sec. 5. That every citizen of this State owes paramount 
allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the United 
States, and that no law or ordinance of the State in contra¬ 
vention or subversion thereof can have any binding force. 

Sec. 6 . The State shall never assume or pay, or authorize 
the collection of any debt or obligation, express or implied, 
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United 
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; 
nor shall the General Assembly assume or pay, or authorize 
the collection of any tax to pay, either directly or indirectly, 
expressed or implied, any debt or bond incurred, or issued, by 
authority of the Convention of the year one thousand eight hun¬ 
dred and sixty-eight, nor any debt or bond incurred or issued 
by the Legislature of the year one thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-eight, at its special session of the year one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-eight, or at its regular sessions of the years 
one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight and one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-nine and one thousand eight hundred 
and seventy, except the bonds issued to fund the interest on 
the old debt of the State, unless the proposing to pay the same 
shall have first been submitted to the people and by them ratified 
by the vote of a majority of all the qualified voters of the State, 
at a regular election held for that purpose. 


2 08 


Our Dual Government 


Sec. 7. No man or set of men are entitled to exclusive or 
separate emoluments or privileges from the community but in 
consideration of public services. 

Sec. 8. The legislative, executive and supreme judicial 
powers of the government ought to be forever separate and 
distinct from each other. 

Sec. 9. All power of suspending laws, or. the execution of 
laws, by any authority, without the consent of the represen¬ 
tatives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought 
not to be exercised. 

Sec. 10. All elections ought to be free. 

Sec. 11. In all criminal prosecutions, every man has the 
right to be informed of the accusation against him and to 
confront the accusers and witnesses with other testimony, 
and to have counsel for his defense, and not to be compelled 
to give evidence against himself or to pay costs, jail fees, or 
necessary witness fees of the defens2, unless found guilty. 

Sec. 12. No person shall be put to answer any criminal 
charge, except as hereinafter allowed, but by indictment, pre¬ 
sentment, or impeachment. 

Sec. 13. No person shall be convicted of any crime but by 
the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men in open 
court. The Legislature may, however, provide other means of 
trial for petty misdemeanors, with the right of appeal. 

Sec. 14. Excessive bail should not be required, nor 
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments 
inflicted. 

Sec. 15. General warrants, thereby any officer or messenger 
may be commanded to search suspended places, without evi¬ 
dence of the act committed, or to seize any person or persons 
not named, whose offense is not particularly described and sup¬ 
ported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty and ought not to 
be granted. 

Sec. 16. There shall be no imprisonment for debt in this 
State, except in cases of fraud. 

Sec. 17. No person ought to be taken, inprisoned, or 
disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed or 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 


209 


exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty or property, 
but by the law of the land. 

Sec. 18. Every person restrained of his liberty is entitled 
to a remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove 
the same, if unlawful; and such remedy ought not to be denied 
or delayed. 

Sec. 19. In all controversies at law respecting property, 
the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities 
of the rights of the people, and ought to remain sacred and 
inviolable. 

Sec. 20. The freedom of the press is one of the great bul¬ 
warks of liberty, and therefore ought never to be restrained, 
but every individual shall be held responsible for the abuse of 
the same. 

Sec. 21. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
not be suspended. 

Sec. 22. As political rights and privileges are not dependent 
upon, or modified by, property, therefore no property qualifi¬ 
cation ought to affect the right to vote or hold office. 

Sec. 23. The people of the State ought not to be taxed, 
or made subject to the payment of any impost or duty, without 
the consent of themselves, or their representatives in General 
Assembly, freely given. 

Sec. 24. A well-regulated militia being necessary to the 
security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and 
bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time 
of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept 
up, and the military should be kept under strict subordination 
to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein contained 
shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or pre¬ 
vent the Legislature from enacting penal statutes against said 
practice. 

Sec. 25. The people have a right to assemble together 
to consult for their common good, to instruct their represen¬ 
tatives, and to apply to the Legislature for redress of grievances. 
But secret political societies are dangerous to the liberties of 
a free people, and should not be tolerated. 


14 


210 


Our Dual Government 


Sec. 26. All men have a natural and inalienable right 
to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their 
own consciences, and no human authority should, in any case 
whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience. 

Sec. 27. The people have the right to the privilege of 
education, and it is the duty of the State to guard and main¬ 
tain that right. 

Sec. 28. For redress of grievances, and for amending and 
strengthening the laws, elections should be often held. 

Sec. 29. A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles 
is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. 

Sec. 30. No hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors 
ought to be granted or conferred in this State. 

Sec. 31. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the 
genius of a free State, and ought not to be allowed. 

Sec. 32. Retrospective laws, punishing acts committed 
before the existence of such laws, and by them only declared 
criminal are oppressive, unjust and incompatible with liberty; 
wherefore no ex post facto law ought to be made. No law 
taxing retrospectively sales, purchases, or other acts previously 
done, ought to be passed. 

Sec. 33. Slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise 
than for crime, whereof the parties shall have been duly con¬ 
victed, shall be and are hereby forever prohibited within the 
State. 

Sec. 34. The limits and boundaries of the State shall be 
and remain as they now are. 

Sec. 35. All courts shall be open; and every person for an 
injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, 
shall have remedy by due course of law, and rights and justice 
administered without sale, denial or delay. 

Sec. 36. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war 
but in a manner prescribed by the law. 

Sec. 37. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed 
to impair or deny others retained by the people; and all powers 
not herein delegated remain with the people. 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 


211 


ARTICLE II 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i . The legislative authority shall be vested in two 
distinct branches both dependent on the people, to wit, a Senate 
and House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. The Senate and House of Representatives shall 
meet biennially on the first Wednesday after the first Monday 
in January next after their election; and, when assembled, 
shall be denominated the General Assembly. Neither house 
shall proceed upon public business unless a majority of all the 
members are actually present. 

Sec. 3. The Senate shall be composed of fifty Senators, 
biennially chosen by ballot. 

Sec. 4. The Senate Districts shall be so altered by the 
General Assembly, at the first session after the return of every 
enumeration by order of Congress that each Senate District 
shall contain, as near as may be, an equal number of inhabit¬ 
ants, excluding aliens and Indians not taxed, and shall remain 
unaltered until the return of another enumeration, and shall 
at all times consist of contiguous territory; and no county shall 
be divided in the formation of a Senate District unless such 
county shall be equitably entitled to two or more Senators. 

Sec. 5. The House of Representatives shall be composed 
of one hundred and twenty Representatives, biennially chosen 
by ballot, to be elected by the counties respectively, according 
to their population, and each county shall have at least one 
Representative in the House of Representatives, although it 
may not contain the requisite ratio of representation. This 
apportionment shall be made by the General Assembly at the 
respective times and periods when the districts of the Senate 
are hereinbefore directed to be laid off. 

Sec. 6. In making the apportionment in the House of 
Representatives, the ratio of representation shall be ascertained 
by dividing the amount of the population of the State, exclusive 
of that comprehended within those counties which do not 
severally contain the one hundred and twentieth part of the 


212 


Our Dual Government 


population of the State, by the number of Representatives, less 
the number assigned to such counties; and in ascertaining the 
number of the population of the State, aliens and Indians not 
taxed shall not be included. To each county containing the 
said ratio and not twice the said ratio, there shall be assigned 
one Representative; to each county containing two but not three 
times the said ratio, there shall be assigned two Representatives, 
and so on progressively, and then the remaining Representatives 
shall be assigned severally to the counties having the largest 
fractions. 

Sec. 7. Each member of the Senate shall not be less than 
twenty-five years of age, shall have resided in the State as a 
citizen two years, and shall have usually resided in the district 
for which he is chosen one year immediately preceding this 
election. 

Sec. 8. Each member of the House of Representatives shall 
be a qualified elector of the State, and shall have resided in 
the county for which he is chosen for one year immediately 
preceding his election. 

Sec. 9. In the election of all officers whose appointments 
shall be conferred upon the General Assembly by the Consti¬ 
tution, the vote shall be viva voce. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall have thfe power to 
pass general laws regulating divorce and alimony, but shall 
not have power to grant a divorce or secure alimony in any 
individual case. 

Sec. 11. The General Assembly shall not have power to 
pass any private laws to alter the name of any person, or to 
legitimate any person not born in lawful wedlock, or to restore 
to the rights of citizenship any person convicted of an infamous 
crime, but shall have power to pass general laws regulating the 
same. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall not pass any private 
law, unless it shall be made to appear that thirty days notice 
of application to pass such law shall have been given, under 
such direction and in such manner as shall be provided by law. 

Sec. 13. If vacancies shall occur in the General Assembly 
by death, resignation or otherwise, writs of election shall be 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 213 

issued by the Governor under such regulations as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 14. No law shall be passed to raise money on the 
credit of the State, or to pledge the faith of the State, directly 
or indirectly, for the payment of any debt, or to impose any tax 
upon the people of the State, or allow the counties, cities or 
towns to do so, unless the bill for the purpose shall have been 
read three several times in each house of the General Assembly 
and passed three several readings, which readings shall have 
been on three different days, and agreed to by each house, 
respectively, and unless the yeas and nays on the second and 
third readings of the bill shall have been entered on the journal. 

Sec. 15. The General Assembly shall regulate entails in 
such manner as to prevent perpetuities. 

Sec. 16. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceed¬ 
ings, which shall be printed and made public immediately after 
the adjournment of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 17. Any member of either house may dissent from 
and protest against any act or resolve which he may think 
injurious to the public, or any individual, and have the reasons 
of his dissent entered on the journal. 

Sec. 18. The House of Representatives shall choose their 
own Speaker and other officers. 

Sec. 19. The Lieutenant Governor shall preside in the 
Senate, but shall have no vote unless it may be equally divided. 

Sec. 20. The Senate shall choose its other officers and 
also a Speaker (pro tempore) in the absence of the Lieutenant 
Governor, or when he shall exercise the office of Governor. 

Sec. 21. The style of the acts shall be: “The General 
Assembly of North Carolina do enact.” 

Sec. 22. Each house shall be judge of the qualifications 
and election of its own members, shall sit upon its own adjourn¬ 
ment from day to day, prepare bills to be passed into laws; 
and the two houses may also jointly adjourn to any future 
day or other place. 

Sec. 23. All bills and resolutions of a legislative nature 
shall be read three times in each house before they pass into 
laws, and shall be signed by the presiding officers of both houses. 


2 T 4 


Our Dual Government 


Sec. 24. Each member of the General Assembly, before 
taking his seat, shall take an oath or affirmation that he will 
support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and 
the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, and will faith¬ 
fully discharge his duty as a member of the Senate or House of 
Representatives. 

Sec. 25. The terms of office for Senators and members of 
the House of Representatives shall commence at the time of 
their election. 

Sec. 26. Upon motion made and seconded in either house 
by one-fifth of the members present, the yeas and nays upon 
any question shall be taken and entered upon the journals. 

Sec. 27. The election for members of the General Assembly 
shall be held for the respective districts and counties at the 
places where they are now held, or may be directed hereafter 
to be held, in such manner as may be prescribed by law, on the 
first Thursday in August, in the year one thousand eight hun¬ 
dred and seventy, and every two years thereafter. But the 
General Assembly may change the time of holding the elections. 

Sec. 28. The members of the General Assembly for the 
term for which they have been elected shall receive as compen¬ 
sation for their services the sum of four dollars per day for each 
day of their session, for a period not exceeding sixty days; and 
should they remain longer in session they shall serve without 
compensation. They shall also be entitled to receive ten cents 
per mile, both while coming to the seat of government and 
while returning home, the said distance to be computed by the 
nearest line or route of public travel. The compensation of 
the presiding officers of the two houses shall be six dollars 
per day and mileage. Should an extra session of the General 
Assembly be called, the members and presiding officers shall 
receive a like rate of compensation for a period not exceeding 
twenty days. * 

Sec. 29. The General Assembly shall not pass any local, 
private or special act or resolution: Relating to the establish¬ 
ment of courts inferior to the Superior Court; relating to the 
appointment of justices of the peace; relating to health, sani¬ 
tation and the abatement of nuisances; changing the names of 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 215 

cities, towns and townships; authorizing the laying out, opening, 
altering, maintaining or discontinuing of highways, streets or 
alleys; relating to ferries or bridges; relating to non-navigable 
streams; relating to cemeteries; relating to the pay of jurors; 
erecting new townships, or changing township lines, or estab¬ 
lishing or changing the lines of school districts; remitting fines, 
penalties and forfeitures, or refunding moneys legally paid into 
the public treasury; regulating labor, trade, mining or manu¬ 
facturing; extending the time for the assessment or collection 
of taxes or otherwise relieving any collector of taxes from the 
due performance of his official duties or his sureties from 
liability; giving effect to informal wills and deeds; nor shall the 
General Assembly enact any such local, private or special act 
by the partial repeal of a general law, but‘the General Assembly 
may at any time repeal local, private or special laws enacted by 
it. Any local, private or special act or resolution passed in 
violation of the provisions of this section shall be void. 

ARTICLE III 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Section i . The Executive Department shall consist of" a 
Governor, in whom shall be vested the supreme executive 
power of the State; a Lieutenant Governor, a Secretary of State, 
an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, and an Attorney-General, who shall be elected for a term 
of four years by the qualified electors of the State, at the same 
time and places and in the same manner as members of the 
General Assembly are elected. Their term of office shall com¬ 
mence on the first day of January next after their election, and 
continue until their successors are elected and qualified: Pro¬ 
vided, that the officers first elected shall assume the duties of 
their office ten days after the approval of this Constitution by 
the Congress of the United States, and shall hold their offices 
four years from and after the first day of January. 

Sec. 2. No person shall be eligible as Governor or Lieuten¬ 
ant Governor unless he shall have attained the age of thirty 
years, shall have been a citizen of the United States five years, 
and shall have been a resident of this State for two years next 


2 l6 


Our Dual Government 


before the election; nor shall the person elected to either of these 
two offices be eligible to the same office more than four years 
in any term of eight years, unless the office shall have been cast 
upon him as Lieutenant Governor or President of the Senate. 

Sec. 3. The return of every election for officers of the 
Executive Department shall be sealed up and transmitted to 
the seat of government by the returning officers, directed to 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall open 
and publish the same in the presence of a majority of the mem¬ 
bers of both houses of the General Assembly. The persons 
having the highest number of votes respectively shall be declared 
duly elected; but if two or more be equal and highest in votes 
for the same office, the one of them shall be chosen by joint 
ballot of both houses of the General Assembly. Contested 
elections shall be determined by a joint ballot of both houses of 
the General Assembly in such manner as shall be prescribed 
by law. 

Sec. 4. The Governor, before entering upon the duties 
of his office, shall, in the presence of the members of both 
branches of the General Assembly, or before any Justice of the 
Supreme Court, take an oath or affirmation that he will support 
the Constitution and laws of the United States, and of the State 
of North Carolina, and that he will faithfully perform the duties 
appertaining to the office of Governor, to which he has been 
elected. 

Sec. 5. The Governor shall reside at the seat of govern¬ 
ment of this State, and he shall, from time to time, give the 
General Assembly information of the affairs of the State, and 
recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall 
deem expedient. 

Sec. 6 . The Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, 
commutations, and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses 
(except in cases of impeachment), upon such conditions as he 
may think proper, subject to such regulations as may be pro¬ 
vided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons. 
He shall biennially communicate to the General Assembly 
each case of reprieve, commutation, or pardon granted, stating 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 217 

the name of each convict, the crime for which he was convicted t 
the sentence and its date, the date of the commutation, pardon, 
or reprieve and the reasons therefor. 

Sec. 7. The officers of the Executive Department and of 
the public institutions of the State shall, at least five days pre¬ 
vious to each regular session of the General Assembly, severally 
report to the Governor, who shall transmit such reports with 
his message to the General Assembly; and the Governor may. 
at any time, require information in writing from the officers in 
the Executive Department upon any subject relating to the 
duties of their respective offices, and shall take care that the 
laws be faithfully executed. 

Sec. 8 . The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of 
the militia of the State, except when they shall be called into 
the service of the United States. 

Sec. 9. The Governor shall have power, on extraordinary 
occasion, by and with the advice of the Council of State, to 
convene the General Assembly in extra session by his procla¬ 
mation, stating therein the purpose or purposes for which they 
are thus convened. 

Sec. 10. The Governor shall nominate and, by and with 
the advice and consent of a majority of the Senators-elect, 
appoint all officers whose offices are established by this Consti¬ 
tution and whose appointments are not otherwise provided for. 

Sec. 11. The Lieutenant Governor shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall have np vote unless the Senate be equally 
divided. He shall, whilst acting as President of the Senate, 
receive for his services the same pay which shall, for the same 
period, be allowed to the Speaker of the House of Represent¬ 
atives; and he shall receive no other compensation except when 
he is acting as Governor. 

Sec. 12. In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his 
failure to qualify, his absence from the State, his inability to 
discharge the duties of his office, or, in case the office of Governor 
shall in any wise become vacant, the powers, duties and emolu¬ 
ments of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor 
until the disability shall cease or a new Governor shall be elected 


2 l8 


Our Dual Government 


and qualified. In every case in which the Lieutenant Governor 
shall be unable to preside over the Senate, the Senators shall 
elect one of theia own number President of their body; and the 
powers, duties and emoluments of the office of Governor shall 
devolve upon him whenever the Lieutenant Governor shall, for 
any reason, be prevented from discharging the duties of such 
office as above provided, and he shall continue as acting Governor 
until the disabilities are removed, or a new Governor or Lieuten¬ 
ant Governor shall be elected and qualified. Whenever, during 
the recess of the General Assembly, it shall become necessary 
for the President of the Senate to administer the government, 
the Secretary of State shall convene the Senate, that they may 
select such President. 

Sec. 13. The respective duties of the Secretary of State, 
Auditor, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and 
Attorney-General shall be prescribed by law. If the office of 
any of said officers shall be vacated by death, resignation or 
otherwise, it shall be the duty of the Governor to appoint 
another until the disability be removed or his successor be 
elected, and qualified. Every such vacancy shall be filled by 
election at the first general election that occurs more than 
thirty days after the vacancy has taken place, and the person 
chosen shall hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired 
term fixed in the first section of this article. 

Sec. 14. The Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, and 
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall constitute, ex officio, 
the Council of State, who shall advise the Governor in the execu¬ 
tion of his office, any three of whom shall constitute a quorum. 
Their advice and proceedings in this capacity shall be entered 
in a journal to be kept for this purpose exclusively, and signed 
by the members present, from any part of which any member 
may enter his dissent; and such journal shall be placed before 
the General Assembly when called for by either house. The 
Attorney-General shall be, ex officio, the legal adviser of the 
Executive Department. 

Sec. 15. The officers mentioned in this article shall, at 
stated periods, receive for their services a compensation to be 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 219 

established by law, which shall neither be increased nor dimin¬ 
ished during the time for which they shall have been elected, 
and the said officers shall receive no other emolument or allow¬ 
ance whatever. 

Sec. 16. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be 
kept by the Governor and used by him as occasion may require, 
and shall be called “The Great Seal of the State of North 
Carolina.” All grants and commissions shall be issued in the 
name and by the authority of the State of North Carolina, 
sealed with “The Great Seal of the State,” signed by the 
Governor and countersigned by the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 17. The General Assembly shall establish a Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, Immigration, and Statistics, under such 
regulations as may best promote the agricultural interests 
of the State, and shall enact laws for the adequate protection 
and encouragement of sheep husbandry. 

ARTICLE IV 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Section i. The distinctions between actions at law and 
suits in equity, and the forms of all such actions and suits 
shall be abolished; and there shall be in this State but one 
form of action for the enforcement or protection of private 
rights or the redress of private wrongs, which shall be denomi¬ 
nated a civil action, and every action prosecuted by the people 
of the State as a party against a person charged with a public 
offense, for the punishment of the same, shall be termed a 
criminal action. Feigned issues shall also be abolished, and 
the fact at issue tried by order of court before a jury. 

Sec. 2. The judicial power of the State shall be vested in 
a Court for the Trial of Impeachments, a Supreme Court, 
Superior Courts, Courts of Justices of the Peace and such 
other courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may be estab¬ 
lished by law. 

Sec. 3. The Court for the Trial of Impeachments shall 
be the Senate. A majority of the members shall be necessary 


220 


Our Dual Government 


to a quorum, and the judgment shall not extend beyond removal 
from, and disqualification to hold, office in this State; but the 
party shall be liable to indictment and punishment according 
to law. 

Sec. 4. The House of Representatives solely shall have 
the power of impeaching. No person shall be convicted with¬ 
out the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators present. 
When the Governor is impeached, the Chief Justice shall preside. 

Sec. 5. Treason against the State shall consist only in 
levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them 
aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, 
or on confession in open court. No conviction of treason or 
attainder shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture. 

Sec. 6. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice 
and four Associate Justices. 

Sec. 7. The terms of the Supreme Court shall be held in 
the city of Raleigh, as now, unless otherwise provided by the 
General Assembly. 

Sec. 8. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction to 
review, upon appeal, any decision of the courts below, upon any 
matter of law or legal inference. And the jurisdiction of said 
court over “issues of fact” and “questions of fact” shall be 
the same exercised by it before the adoption of the Constitution 
of one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, and the court 
shall have the power to issue any remedial writs necessary to 
give it a general supervision and control over the proceedings 
of the inferior courts. 

Sec. 9. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction 
to hear claims against the State, but its decisions shall be merely 
recommendatory; no process in the nature of execution shall 
issue thereon; they shall be reported to the next session of the 
General Assembly for its action. 

Sec. 10. The State shall be divided into nine judicial dis¬ 
tricts, for each of which a Judge shall be chosen; and there shall 
be held a Superior Court in each county at least twice in each 
year, to continue for such time in each county as may be 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 221 

prescribed by law. But the General Assembly may reduce 
or increase the number of districts. 

Sec. 11. Every Judge of the Superior Court shall reside 
in the district for which he is elected. The Judges shall preside 
in the courts of the different districts successively, but no Judge 
shall hold the courts in the same district oftener than once in 
four years; but in case of the protracted illness of the Judge 
assigned to preside in any district, or of any other unavoidable 
accident to him, by reason of which he shall be unable to pre¬ 
side, the Governor may require any Judge to hold one or more 
specified terms in said district, in lieu of the Judge assigned to 
hold the courts of the said district; and the General Assembly 
may by general laws provide for the selection of special or emer¬ 
gency judges to hold the Superior Courts of any county or dis¬ 
trict when the judge assigned thereto, by reason of sickness, 
disability, or other cause, is unable to attend and hold said 
court, and when no other judge is available to hold the same. 
Such special or emergency judges shall have the power and 
authority of regular judges of the Superior Courts, in the courts 
which they are so appointed to hold; and the General Assembly 
shall provide for their reasonable compensation. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall have no power to 
deprive the Judicial Department of any power or jurisdiction 
which rightfully pertains to it as a coordinate, department of 
the Government; but the General Assembly shall allot and 
distribute that portion of this power and jurisdiction which 
does not pertain to the Supreme Court among the other courts 
prescribed in this Constitution or which may be established by 
law, in such manner as it may deem best, provide, also, a proper 
system of appeals, and regulate by law, when necessary, the 
methods of proceeding, in the exercise of their powers, of all the 
courts below the Supreme Court, so far as the same may be 
done without conflict with other provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 13. In all issues of fact, joined in any court, the parties 
may waive the right to have the same determined by a jury, in 
which case the finding of the Judge upon the facts shall have the 
force and effect of a verdict by a jury. 


222 


Our Dual Government 


Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall provide for the 
establishment of special courts, for the trial of misdemeanors, 
in cities and towns where the same may be necessary. 

Sec. 15. The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall be appointed 
by the Court and shall hold his office for eight, years. 

Sec. 16. A Clerk of the Superior Court for each county 
shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof, at the time and 
in the manner prescribed by law for the election of members 
of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 17. Clerks of the Superior Courts shall hold their 
offices for four years. 

Sec. 18. The General Assembly shall prescribe and regulate 
the fees, salaries and emoluments of all officers provided for 
in this article; but the salaries of the Judges shall not be dimin¬ 
ished during their continuance in office. 

Sec. 10. The laws of North Carolina, not repugnant to 
this Constitution, or the Constitution and laws of the United 
States, shall be in force until lawfully altered. 

Sec. 20. Actions at law, and suits in equity, pending 
when this Constitution shall go into effect, shall be transferred 
to the courts having jurisdiction thereof, without prejudice by 
reason of the change; and all such actions and suits commenced 
before, and pending at the adoption by the General Assembly 
of the rules of practice and procedure herein provided for, shall 
be heard and determined according to the practice now in use, 
unless otherwise provided for by said rules. 

Sec. 21. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected 
by the qualified voters of the State, as is provided for the election 
of members of the General Assembly. They shall hold their 
offices for eight years. The Judges of the Superior Courts, 
elected at the first election under this amendment, shall be 
elected in like manner as is provided for Justices of the Supreme 
Court, and shall hold their offices for eight years. The General 
Assembly may, from time to time, provide by law that the 
Judges of the Superior Courts, chosen at succeeding elections, 
instead of being elected by the voters of the whole State, as is 
herein provided for, shall be elected by the voters of their respec¬ 
tive districts. 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 223 

Sec. 22. The Superior Courts shall be at all times open 
for the transaction of all business within their jurisdiction, 
except the trial of issues of fact requiring a jury. 

Sec. 23. A Solicitor shall be elected for each judicial dis¬ 
trict by the qualified voters thereof, as is prescribed for members 
of the General Assembly, who shall hold office for the term of 
four years, and prosecute on behalf of the State in all criminal 
actions in the Superior Courts, and advise the officers of justice 
in his district. 

Sec. 24. In each county a sheriff and coroner shall be 
elected by the qualified voters thereof, as is prescribed for 
members of the General Assembly, and shall hold their offices 
for two years. In each township there shall be a constable 
elected in like manner by the voters thereof, who shall hold 
his office for two years. When there is no coroner in a county, 
the Clerk of the Superior Court for the county may appoint 
one for special cases. In case of a vacancy existing for any 
cause in any of the offices created by this section, the com¬ 
missioners of the county may appoint to such office for the 
unexpired term. 

Sec. 25. All vacancies occurring in the offices provided 
for by this article of the Constitution shall be filled by the 
appointment of the Governor, unless otherwise provided for, 
and the appointees shall hold their places until the next regular 
election for members of the General Assembly, when elections 
shall be held to fill such offices. If any person, elected or 
appointed to any of said offices, shall neglect and fail to qualify, 
such offices shall be appointed to, held and filled as provided 
in case of vacancies occurring therein. All incumbents of said 
office shall hold until their successors are qualified. 

Sec. 26. The officers elected at the first election held under 
this Constitution shall hold their offices for the terms prescribed 
for them respectively, next ensuing after the next regular 
election for members of the General Assembly. But their terms 
shall begin upon the approval of this Constitution by the Con¬ 
gress of the United States. 

Sec. 27. The several justices of the peace shall have juris¬ 
diction, under such regulations as the General Assembly shall 


224 


Our Dual Government 


prescribe, of civil actions, founded on contract, wherein the 
sum demanded shall not exceed two hundred dollars, and 
wherein the title to real estate shall not be in controversy; and 
of all criminal matters arising within their counties where 
the punishment cannot exceed a fine of fifty dollars or impris¬ 
onment for thirty days. And the General Assembly may give 
to justices of the peace jurisdiction of other civil actions wherein 
the value of the property in controversy does not exceed fifty 
dollars. When an issue of fact shall be joined before a justice, 
on demand of either party thereto, he shall cause a jury of six 
men to be summoned, who shall try the same. The party 
against whom judgment shall be rendered in any civil action 
may appeal to the Superior Court from the same. In all cases 
of a criminal nature, the party against whom judgment is given 
may appeal to the Superior Court, where the matter shall be 
heard anew. In all cases brought before a justice, he shall 
make a record of the proceedings and file same with the Clerk 
of the Superior Court for his county. 

Sec. 28. When the office of justice of the peace shall become 
vacant otherwise than by expiration of the term, and in case 
of a failure by the voters of any district to elect, the Clerk of 
the Superior Court for the county shall appoint to fill the 
vacancy for the unexpired term. 

Sec. 29. In case the office of Clerk of a Superior Court 
for a county shall become vacant otherwise than by the expira¬ 
tion of the term, and in case of a failure by the people to elect, 
the Judge of the Superior Court for the county shall appoint 
to fill the vacancy until an election can be regularly held. 

Sec. 30. In case the General Assembly shall establish 
other courts inferior to the Supreme Court, the presiding officers 
and clerks thereof shall be elected in such manner as the General 
Assembly may from time to time prescribe, and they shall hold 
their offices for a term not exceeding eight years. 

Sec. 31. Any Judge of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior 
Courts, and the presiding officers of such courts inferior to the 
Supreme Court as may be established by law, may be removed 
from office for mental or physical inability, upon a concurrent 
resolution of two-thirds of both houses of the General Assembly. 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 225 

The Judge or presiding officer, against whom the General Assem¬ 
bly may be about to proceed, shall receive notice thereof, accom¬ 
panied by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least 
twenty days before the day on which either house of the General 
Assembly shall act thereon. 

Sec. 32. Any Clerk of the Supreme Court, or of the Superior 
Courts, or of such courts inferior to the Supreme Court as may 
be established by law, may be removed from office for mental 
or physical inability; the Clerk of the Supreme Court by the 
Judges of said Court, the Clerks of the Superior Courts by the 
Judge riding the district, and the clerks of such courts inferior 
to the Supreme Court as may be established by law by the pre¬ 
siding officers of said courts. The clerk against whom the pro¬ 
ceedings are instituted shall recieve notice thereof, accompanied 
by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least ten days 
before the day appointed to act thereon, and the clerk shall be 
entitled to an appeal to the next term of the Superior Court, 
and thence to the Supreme Court as provided in other cases of 
appeals. 

Sec. 33. The amendments made to the Constitution of 
North Carolina by this Convention' shall not have the effect 
to vacate any office or term of office now existing under the 
Constitution of the State and filled or held by virtue of any 
election or appointment under the said Constitution and the 
laws of the State made in pursuance thereof. 

ARTICLE V 

REVENUE AND TAXATION 

Section i. The General Assembly shall levy a capitation 
tax on every male inhabitant in the State over twenty-one and 
under fifty years of age, which shall be equal on each to the tax 
on property valued at three hundred dollars in cash. The 
commissioners of the several counties may exempt from capi¬ 
tation tax in special cases, on account of poverty and infirmity, 
and the State and county capitation tax combined shall never 
exceed two dollars on the head. 

Sec. 2. The proceeds of the State and county capitation 
tax shall be applied to the purposes of education and the support 


15 


226 


Our Dual Government 


of the poor, but in no one year shall more than twenty-five per 
cent thereof be appropriated to the latter purpose. 

Sec. 3. Laws shall be passed taxing, by a uniform rule, 
all moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint-stock 
companies, or otherwise; and, also, all real and personal prop¬ 
erty, according to its true value in money. The General 
Assembly may also tax trades, professions, franchises, and 
incomes: Provided , that no income shall be taxed when the 
property from which the income is derived is taxed. 

Sec. 4. Until the bonds of the State shall be at par, the 
General Assembly shall have no power to contract any new 
debt or pecuniary obligation in behalf of the State, except 
to supply a casual deficit, or for suppressing invasions or insur¬ 
rections, unless it shall in the same bill levy a special tax to 
pay the interest annually. And the General Assembly shall 
have no power to give or lend the credit of the State in aid of 
any person, association or corporation, except to aid in the com¬ 
pletion of such railroads as may be unfinished at the time of 
the adoption of this Constitution, or in which the State has a 
direct pecuniary interest, unless the subject be submitted to a 
direct vote of the people of the State, and be approved by the 
majority of those who shall vote thereon. 

Sec. 5. Property belonging to the State, or to municipal 
corporations, shall be exempt from taxation. The General Assem¬ 
bly may exempt cemeteries and property held for educational, 
scientific, literary, charitable or religious purposes; also wearing 
apparel, arms for muster, household and kitchen furniture, the 
mechanical and agricultural implements of mechanics and 
farmers, libraries and scientific instruments, or any other per¬ 
sonal property, to a value not exceeding three hundred dollars. 

Sec. 6. The taxes levied by the commissioners of the several 
counties for county purposes shall be levied in like manner with 
the State taxes, and shall never exceed the double of the State 
tax, except for a special purpose, and with the special approval 
of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 7. Every act of the General Assembly levying a tax 
shall state the special object to which it is to be applied, and it 
shall bo applied to no other purpose. 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 227 
ARTICLE VI 

SUFFRAGE AND ELIGIBILITY TO OFFICE 

Section i. Every male person bom in the United States, 
and every male person who has been naturalized, twenty-one 
years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this 
article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people 
in the State, except as herein otherwise provided. 

Sec. 2. He shall have resided in the State of North Carolina 
for two years, in the county six months, and in the precinct, 
ward or other election district in which he offers to vote, four 
months next preceding the election: Provided, that removal 
from one precinct, ward, or other election district, to another in 
the same county, shall not operate to deprive any person of 
the right to vote in the precinct, ward or other election district 
from which he has removed until four months after such removal. 
No person who has been convicted, or who has confessed his 
guilt in open court upon indictment, of any crime, the punish¬ 
ment of which now is or may hereafter be imprisonment in the 
State’s Prison, shall be permitted to vote unless the said person 
shall be first restored to citizenship in the manner prescribed 
by law. 

Sec. 3. Every person offering to vote shall be at the time 
a legally registered voter as herein prescribed and in the manner 
hereafter provided by law, and the General Assembly of North 
Carolina shall enact general registration laws to carry into effect 
the provisions of this article. 

Sec. 4. Every person presenting himself for registration 
shall be able to read and write any section of the Constitution 
in the English language; and before he shall be entitled to vote 
he shall have paid, on or before the first day of May of the year 
in which he proposes to vote, his poll tax for the previous year 
as prescribed by Article V, section 1, of the Constitution. But 
no male person who was on January 1, 1867, or at any other time 
prior thereto, entitled to vote under the laws of any State in the 
United States wherein he then resided, and no lineal descendant 
of any such person, shall be denied the right to register and vote 
at any election in this State by reason of his failure to possess 


228 


Our Dual Government 


the educational qualifications herein prescribed: Provided, he 
shall have registered in accordance with the terms of this section 
prior to December i, 1908. The General Assembly shall pro¬ 
vide for the registration of all persons entitled to vote with¬ 
out the educational qualifications herein prescribed, and shall, 
on or before November 1, 1908, provide for the making of a 
permanent record of such registration, and all persons so 
registered shall forever thereafter have the right to vote in 
all elections by the people in this State, unless disqualified 
under section 2 of this article: Proi'ded , such person shall 
have paid his poll tax as above required. 

Sec. 5. That this amendment to the Constitution is pre¬ 
sented and adopted as one indivisible plan for the regulation 
of the suffrage, with the intent and purpose to so connect 
the different parts and to make them so dependent upon each 
other that the whole shall stand or fall together. 

Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by a ballot, 
and all elections by the General Assembly shall be viva voce. 

Sec. 7. Every voter in North Carolina, except as in this 
article disqualified, shall be eligible to office, but before entering 
upon the duties of the office he shall take and subscribe the 
following oath: 

“I, ., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will 

support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United 
States and the Constitution and laws of North Carolina not 
inconsistent therewith, and that I will faithfully discharge the 
duties of my office as. So help me, God.” 

Sec. 8. The following classes of persons shall be disqualified 
for office: First, all persons who shall deny the being of Almighty 
God. Second, all persons who shall have been convicted or 
confessed their guilt on indictment pending, and whether sen¬ 
tenced or not, or under judgment suspended, of any treason 
or felony, or of any other crime for which the punishment may 
be imprisonment in the penitentiary, since becoming citizens 
of the United States, or of corruption or malpractice in office, 
unless such persons shall be restored to the rights of citizenship 
in a manner prescribed by law. 




Constitution of the State of North Carolina 


229 


Sec. 9. That this amendment to the Constitution shall go 
into effect on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and two, 
if a majority of votes cast at the next general election shall be 
cast in favor of this suffrage amendment. 

ARTICLE VII 

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS 

Section 1. In each county there shall be elected biennially 
by the qualified voters thereof, as provided for the election of 
members of the General Assembly, the following officers: A 
treasurer, register of deeds, surveyor, and five commissioners. 

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the commissioners to exercise 
a general supervision and control of the penal and charitable 
institutions, schools, roads, bridges, levying of taxes, and finances 
of the county, as may be prescribed by law. The register of 
deeds shall be, ex officio, clerk of the board of commissioners. 

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the commissioners first 
elected in each county to divide the same into convenient 
districts, and to report the same to the General Assembly 
before the first day of January, 1869. 

Sec. 4. Upon the approval of the reports provided for in 
the foregoing section by the General Assembly, the said dis¬ 
tricts shall have corporate powers for the necessary purposes 
of local government, and shall be known as townships. 

Sec. 5. In each township there shall be biennially elected 
by the qualified voters thereof a clerk and two justices of the , 
peace, who shall constitute a board of trustees, and shall, 
under the supervision of the county commissioners, have 
control of the taxes and finances, roads and bridges of the 
townships, as may be prescribed by law. The General Assembly 
may provide for the election of a larger number of the justices 
of the peace in cities and towns and in those townships in which 
cities and towns are situated. In every township there shall 
also be biennially elected a school committee, consisting of 
three persons, whose duties shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 6. The township board of trustees shall assess the 
taxable property of their townships and make returns to the 


230 


Our Dual Government 


county commissioners for revision, as may be prescribed by law. 
The clerk shall be, ex officio, treasurer of the township. 

Sec. 7. No county, city, town or other municipal corpo¬ 
ration shall contract any debt, pledge its faith or loan its credit, 
nor shall any tax be levied or collected by any officers of the 
same except for the necessary expenses thereof, unless by a vote 
of the majority of the qualified voters therein. 

Sec. 8. No money shall be drawn from any county or town¬ 
ship treasury except by authority of law. 

Sec. 9. All taxes levied by any county, city, town or town¬ 
ship shall be uniform and ad valorem upon all property in the 
same, except property exempted by this Constitution. 

Sec. 10. The county officers first elected under the provi¬ 
sions of this article shall enter upon their duties ten days after 
the approval of this Constitution by the Congress of the United 
States. 

Sec. 11. The Governor shall appoint a sufficient number 
of justices of the peace in each county, who shall hold their 
places until sections four, five and six of this article shall have 
been carried into effect. 

Sec. 12. All charters, ordinances and provisions relating to 
municipal corporations shall remain in force until legally changed, 
unless inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 13. No county, city, town or other municipal cor¬ 
poration shall assume to pay, nor shall any tax be levied or 
collected for the payment of any debt, or the interest upon 
any debt, contracted directly or indirectly in aid or support 
of the rebellion. 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall have full power by 
statute to modify, change or abrogate any and all of the pro¬ 
visions of this article and substitute others in their place, except 
sections seven, nine and thirteen. 

ARTICLE VIII 

corporations other than municipal 

Section i. No corporation shall be created nor shall its 
charter be extended, altered, or amended by special act, except 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 231 

corporations for charitable, educational, penal, or reformatory 
purposes that are to be and remain under the patronage and 
control of the State; but the General Assembly shall provide 
by general laws for the chartering and organization of all cor¬ 
porations, and for amending, extending, and forfeiture of all 
charters, except those above permitted by special act. All such 
general laws and special acts may be altered from time to time 
or repealed; and the General Assembly may at any time by 
special act repeal the charter of any corporation. 

Sec. 2. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such 
individual liabilities of the corporations and other means as 
may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. .3. The term corporation, as used in this article, shall 
be construed to include all associations and joint-stock com¬ 
panies having any of the powers and privileges of corporations 
not possessed by individuals or partnerships. And all cor¬ 
porations shall have the right to sue and shall be subject to 
be sued in all courts in like cases as natural persons. 

Sec. 4. “It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide 
by general laws for the organization of cities, towns, and incor¬ 
porated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, assess¬ 
ment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their 
credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessment and in contracting 
debts by such municipal corporations.” 

ARTICLE IX 

EDUCATION 

Section i. Religion, morality, and knowledge being neces¬ 
sary to good government and to the happiness of mankind, 
schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly, at its first session under 
this Constitution, -shall provide by taxation and otherwise 
for a general and uniform system of public schools, wherein 
tuition shall be free of charge to all the children of the State 
between the ages of six and twenty-one years. And the children 
of the white race and the children of the colored race shall be 


232 


Our Dual Government 


taught in separate public schools; but there shall be no dis¬ 
crimination in favor of or to the prejudice of either race. 

Sec. 3. Each county of the State shall be divided into 
a convenient number of districts, in which one or more public 
schools shall be maintained at least four months in every year; 
and if the commissioners of any county shall fail to comply 
with the aforesaid requirements of this section they shall be 
liable to indictment. 

Sec. 4. The proceeds of all lands that have been or here¬ 
after may be granted by the United States to this State and 
not otherwise appropriated by this State or the United States, 
also all moneys, stocks, bonds, and other property now belong¬ 
ing to any State fund for purposes of education, also the net 
proceeds of all sales of the swamp lands belonging to the State, 
and all other grants, gifts, or devices that have been or here¬ 
after may be made to the State and not otherwise appropriated 
by the State or by the terms of the grant, gift, or devise, shall 
be paid into the State Treasury, and, together with so much of 
the ordinary revenue of the State as may be by law set apart 
for that purpose, shall be faithfully appropriated for establishing 
and maintaining in this State a system of free public schools 
and for no other uses or purposes whatsoever. 

Sec. 5. All moneys, stocks, bonds and other property 
belonging to a county school fund, also the net proceeds from 
the sale of estrays, also the clear proceeds of all penalties and 
forfeitures and of all fines collected in the several counties 
for any breach of the penal or military laws of the State, and 
all moneys which shall be paid by persons as an equivalent 
for exemption from military duty, shall belong to and remain 
in the several counties, and shall be faithfully appropriated 
for establishing and maintaining free public schools in the 
several counties in this State: Provided , that the amount 
collected in each county shall be annually reported to the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall have power to provide 
for the election of trustees of the University of North Carolina, 
in whom, when chosen, shall be vested all the privileges, rights, 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 233 

franchises and endowments thereof in any wise granted to or 
conferred upon the trustees of said University; and the General 
Assembly may make such provisions, laws and regulations 
from time to time as may be necessary and expedient for the 
maintenance and management of said University. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall provide that the bene¬ 
fits of the University, as far as practicable, be extended to the 
youth of the State free of expense for tuition; also that all the 
property which has heretofore accrued to the State or shall 
hereafter accrue from escheats, unclaimed dividends or distribu¬ 
tive shares of the estates of deceased persons, shall be appro¬ 
priated to the use of the University. 

Sec. 8 . The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary 
of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Superintendent of Public Instruc¬ 
tion, and'Attorney-General shall constitute a State Board of 
Education. 

Sec. 9. The Governor shall be president and the Superin¬ 
tendent of Public Instruction shall be secretary of the Board 
of Education. 

Sec. 10. The Board of Education shall succeed to all the 
powers and trusts of the president and directors of the literary 
fund of North Carolina and shall have full power to legislate 
and make all needful rules and regulations in relation to free 
public schools and the educational fund of the State; but all 
acts, rules and regulations of said board may be altered, amended 
or repealed by the General Assembly, and when so altered, 
amended or repealed they shall not be reenacted by the board. 

Sec. 11. The first session of the Board of Education shall 
be held at the capital of the State within fifteen days after the 
organization of the State Government under this Constitution; 
the time of future meetings may be determined by the board. 

Sec. 12. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum 
for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 13. The contingent expenses of the board shall be 
provided by the General Assembly. 

Sec. 14. As soon as practicable after the adoption of this 
Constitution the General Assembly shall establish and maintain 


15 


234 


Our Dual Government 


in connection with the University a department of agriculture, 
of mechanics, of mining, and of normal instruction. 

Sec. 15. The General Assembly is hereby empowered to 
enact that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability 
shall attend the public schools during the period between the 
ages of six and eighteen years for a term of not less than sixteen 
months, unless educated by other means. 

ARTICLE X 

HOMESTEADS AND EXEMPTIONS 

Section i. The personal property of any resident of this 
State to the value of five hundred dollars to be selected by 
such resident, shall be and is hereby exempted from sale under 
execution or other final process of any court issued for .the 
collection of any debt. 

Sec. 2. Every homestead, and the dwellings and buildings 
used therewith, not exceeding in value one thousand dollars, 
to be selected by the owner thereof, or in lieu thereof, at the 
option of the owner, any lot in a city, town or village, with the 
dwellings and buildings used thereon, owned and occupied by 
any resident of this State, and not exceeding the value of one 
thousand dollars, shall be exempt from sale under execution 
or other final process obtained on any debt. But no property 
shall be exempt from sale for taxes or for payment of obliga¬ 
tions contracted for the purchase of said premises. 

Sec. 3. The homestead, after the death of the owner thereof, 
shall be exempt from the payment of any debt during the 
minority of his children or any one of them. 

Sec. 4. The provisions of sections one and two of this 
article shall not be so construed as to prevent a laborer’s lien 
for work done and performed for the person claiming such 
exemption, or a mechanic’s lien for work done on the premises. 

Sec. 5. If the owner of a homestead die, leaving a widow 
but no children, the same shall be exempt from the debts of 
her husband, and the rents and profits thereof shall inure to 
her benefit during her widowhood, unless she be the owner 
of a homestead in her own right. 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 


Sec. 6. The real and personal property of any female in 
this State acquired before marriage, and all property, real 
and personal, to which she may, after marriage, become in 
any manner entitled, shall be and remain the sole and separate 
estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable for 
any debts, obligations or engagements of her husband, and 
may be devised and bequeathed, and, with the written assent 
of her husband, conveyed by her as if she were unmarried. 

Sec. 7. The husband may insure his own life for the sole 
use and benefit of his wife and children, and in case of the 
death of the husband the amount thus insured shall be paid 
over to the wife and children, or to the guardian if under age, 
for her or their own use, free from all the claims of the repre¬ 
sentatives of her husband or any of his creditors. 

Sec. 8. Nothing contained in the foregoing sections of 
this article shall operate to prevent the owner of a homestead 
from disposing of the same by deed; but no deed made by 
the owner of a homestead shall be valid without the voluntary 
signature and assent of his wife, signified on her private exami¬ 
nation according to law. 

ARTICLE XI 

PUNISHMENTS, PENAL INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC CHARITIES 

Section i. The following punishments only shall be known 
to the laws of this State, viz., death, imprisonment with or 
without hard labor, fines, removal from office, and disquali¬ 
fication to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit 
under this State. The foregoing provision for imprisonment 
with hard labor shall be construed to authorize the employment 
of such convict labor on public works or highways, or other 
labor for public benefit, and the farming out thereof, where 
and in such manner as may be provided by law; but no convict 
shall be farmed out who has been sentenced on a charge of 
murder, manslaughter, rape, attempt to commit rape, or arson: 
Provided, that no convict whose labor may be farmed out shall 
be punished for any failure of duty as a laborer except by a 
responsible officer of the State; but the convicts so farmed out 


236 


Our Dual Government 


shall be at all times under the supervision and control, as to 
their government and discipline, of the penitentiary board or 
some officer of the State. 

Sec. 2. The object of punishment being not only to satisfy 
justice, but also to reform the offender, and thus prevent crime, 
murder, arson, burglary, and rape, and these only may be 
punishable with death, if the General Assembly shall so enact. 

Sec. 3. The General Assembly shall, at its first meeting, 
make provision for the erection and conduct of a State’s prison 
or penitentiary at some central and accessible point within the 
State. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly may provide for the erec¬ 
tion of a house of correction, where vagrants and persons guilty 
of misdemeanors shall be restrained and usefully employed. 

Sec. 5. A house or houses of refuge may be established 
whenever the public interests may require it, for the correction 
and instruction of other classes of offenders. 

Sec. 6. It shall be required by competent legislation that 
the structure hnd superintendence of penal institutions of the 
State, the county jails and city police prisons secure the health 
and comfort of the prisoners, and that male and female prisoners 
be never confined in the same room or cell. 

Sec. 7. Beneficent provisions for the poor, the unfortunate 
and orphan being one of the first duties of a civilized and 
Christian State, the General Assembly shall, at its first session, 
appoint and define the duties of a board of public charities, 
to whom shall be entrusted the supervision of all charitable 
and penal State institutions, and who shall annually report to 
the Governor upon their condition, with suggestions for their 
improvement. 

Sec. 8 . There shall also, as soon as practicable, be measures 
devised by the State for the establishment of one or more 
orphan houses, where destitute orphans may be cared for, 
educated, and taught some business or trade. 

Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of the Legislature, as soon 
as practicable, to devise means for the education of idiots and 
inebriates. 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 


237 


Sec. 10. The General Assembly may provide that the 
indigent deaf-mute, blind, and insane of the State shall be 
cared for at the charge of the State. 

Sec. 11. It shall be steadily kept in view by the Legislature 
and the Board of Public Charities, that all penal and charitable 
institutions should be made as nearly self-supporting as is con¬ 
sistent with the purposes of their creation. 

ARTICLE XII 

MILITIA 

Section i. All able-bodied male citizens of the State of 
North Carolina, between the ages of twenty-one and forty 
years, who are citizens of the United States, shall be liable to 
do duty in the militia: Provided , that all persons who may 
be averse to bearing arms, from religious scruples, shall be 
exempt therefrom. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall provide for the organ¬ 
izing, arming, equipping and discipline of the militia, and for 
paying the same, when called into active service. 

Sec. 3. The Governor shall be commander-in-chief, and 
shall have power to call out the militia to execute the law , 
suppress riots or insurrection, and to repel invasion. 

Sec. 4. The General. Assembly shall have power to 
make such exemptions as may be deemed necessary, and 
enact laws that may be expedient for the government of the 
militia. 

ARTICLE XIII 

AMENDMENTS 

Section i. No convention of the people of this State shall 
ever be called by the General Assembly, unless by the concur¬ 
rence of two-thirds of all the members of each house of the 
General Assembly, and except the proposition, Convention, or 
No Convention, be first submitted to the qualified voters of the 
whole State, at the next general election in manner to be pre¬ 
scribed by law. And should a majority of the votes cast be in 
favor of said convention, it shall assemble on such day as may 
be prescribed by the General Assembly. 


238 


Our Dual Government 


Sec. 2. No part of the Constitution of this State shall be 
altered unless a bill to alter the same shall have been agreed 
to by three-fifths of each house of the General Assembly. And 
the amendment or amendments so agreed to shall be submitted 
at the next general election to the qualified voters of the whole 
State, in such a manner as may be prescribed by law. And in 
the event of their adoption by a majority of the votes cast, 
such amendment or amendments shall become part of the Con¬ 
stitution of the State. 


ARTICLE XIV 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Section i. All indictments which shall have been found, 
or may hereafter be found, for any crime or offense committed 
before this Constitution takes effect, may be proceeded upon in 
the proper courts, but no punishment shall be inflicted which 
is forbidden by this Constitution. 

Sec. 2. No person who shall hereafter fight a duel, or assist 
in the same as a second, or send, accept, or knowingly carry 
a challenge therefor, or agree to go out of the State to fight a 
duel, shall hold any office in this State. 

Sec. 3. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but 
in consequence of appropriations made by law; and an accurate 
account of the receipts and expenditures of the public money 
shall be annually published. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall provide, by proper 
legislation, for giving to mechanics and laborers an adequate 
lien on the subject matter of their labor. 

Sec. 5. In the absence of any contrary provision, all officers 
of this State, whether heretofore elected or appointed by the 
Governor, shall hold their positions only until other appoint¬ 
ments are made by the Governor, or, if the offices are elective, 
until their successors shall have been chosen and duly qualified 
according to the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 6. The seat of government of this State shall remain 
at the city of Raleigh. 

Sec. 7. No person who shall hold any office or place of 
trust or profit under the United States, or any department 


Constitution of the State of North Carolina 239 


thereof, or under this State, or under any other State or Govern¬ 
ment, shall hold or exercise any other office or place of trust 
or profit under the authority of this State, or be eligible to a 
seat in either house of the General Assembly: Provided , that 
nothing herein contained shall extend to officers in the militia, 
justices of the peace, commissioners of public charities, or 
commissioners for special purposes. 

Sec. 8 . All marriages between a white person and a negro 
or between a white person and white person of negro descent 
to the third generation, inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. 


A BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Andrews, Charles McLean. Colonial Self-Government. 

Beck, James M. The Constitution of the United States. 
Brooks, E. C. Education for Democracy. 

Bruce, H. Addington. Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road. 
Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. 

Dole, Charles F. The New American Citizen. 

Fiske, John. Critical Period of American History. 

Foerster and Pierson. American Ideals. 

Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography of. 

Gauss, Christian F. Democracy Today. 

Hillis, Newell Dwight. Quest of John Chapman. 

Long, A. W. *American Patriotic Prose. 

McM aster, J. B. History of the People of the United States , Vol.I. 
Meigs, W. M. The Growth of the Constitution. 

Osgood, Herbert Levi. The American Colonies in the Seven¬ 
teenth Century. 

Perry and Beebe. Four American Pioneers. 

Shepherd, W. G. The Boy’s Own Book of Politics. 

Sneath and Hodges. Moral Training in the School and Home. 
Washington, George. Farewell Address. 


240 


THE INDEX 


Bold-face figures indfcate an extended treatment of the subject indexed. | 


Abbott, Dr. Lyman, on True 
Americanism, 155 
Acting members of government, 

157 f- 

Adams, John, 143; on America, 
161 

Adams, Samuel, 170 
Albemarle Sound, 184 
Alexandria, Va M 145 
Allegiance, pledging, to flag, 

173 f- 

Amendments to state constitu¬ 
tion of North Carolina, 237 f. 
Amendments, Later, to Consti¬ 
tution of U. S., 137 ff. 
America, 23, 30, 34, 36, 37, 73, 
100, no, 161 

Americanism for young people, 
studies in, 11 ff. 

American Legion, Preamble to 
Constitution of, 181 
American’s Creed, The, 180 ff. 
American Spirit, expressed by 
Lincoln, 165 f. 

Annapolis, Md., 80, 99 
Articles of Confederation, 95 f., 
99, 150, 154; why unsatis¬ 
factory, 96 ff. 

Articles of Constitution of U. S., 
121 ff. ; Article I, i2iff.; 
Article II, 128 ff.; Article III, 
130 f. ; Article IV, 131 f.; 
Article V, 132 f.; Article VI, 
133; Article VII, 133 f. 
Asbury, Francis, 50 

Baltimore, Lord, 73 
Baltimore, Md., 145, 180 
Bibliography, A, 240 
Bill of Rights, 105 f., 147; text 
of, 135 f- 

Boone, Daniel, 31, 170 example 
of; 30 ff. 


Boston, 59 

Braddock, General, 91 
Burning of the “Peggy Stewart,” 
80 

Cambridge, Mass., 91 
Cape Fear River, N. C., 186 
Capitol, The, Washington, D. C. 
10 

Carpenters’ Hall, 94 f. 

Carson, Kit, 30 

Caswell, Richard, Governor of 
North Carolina, 189 
Chapman, John, 170; early life, 
50; example of, 50; illness of, 
54 f- ; monument to, 56; serves 
the West, 5 1 f. ; story of, 49 ff. 
Charles I, of England, 76 
Charles II, of England, 45 
China, 164 

Citizens, as acting members of 
government, 157 ff. 

Clinton, Governor of New York, 
146 

Colonies of England, 22 
Colonies, other, examples of, 

47 f- 

Colonists of North Carolina, 

185 ff. 

Colony of North Carolina, 185 
Commissioner of Education, 
U. S., 180 
Congress, 150 

Congress elects first president, 

143 f- 

Connecticut, 21, 142 
Constitutional Convention, First, 
98 ff., 142, 154; completed, 
104 f.; delegates from North 
Carolina, to 190; Franklin’s 
influence at, 103 f.; Washing¬ 
ton’s influence at, 102 f. ; who 
composed it, 101 f. 


241 


242 


The Index 


Constitutional Convention, of 
North Carolina, 188 
Constitution of the United 
States, 14, 15, 72; amend¬ 
ments to, 132 f., 135 ff.; danger 
of departing from, 165 f.; 
executive department of, 
128 £f.; general provisions of, 
133; how adopted, 142 f.; 
judicial department of, 130 f.; 
later amendments to, 137 ff.; 
legislative department of, 
121 ff.; preamble of, 121; 
purpose of, 109 ff.; ratifica¬ 
tion of, 133 f.; relations of 
states, 131 f.; text of, 121 ff.; 
text of Articles of, 121 ff. 
Constitutions, Origin of, 24 
Continent, how nations divided 
this, 20 

Continental Congress, 81, 94 ff. 
Cooperate, 63, 59 
Cooperation, 24; why it became 
necessary, 59 f. 

Cornwallis, Lord, 93, 95 
Corporations other than munici¬ 
pal of North Carolina, text of, 
in state constitution, 230 f. 
Creed, The American’s, 180 ff. 
Crockett, David, 30; example 
of, 32 

Crusoe, Robinson, 33, 35, 36, 
60; example of, 25 ff. 

Cuba, 163 


Declaration of Independence, 
79 f., 83 ff., 102, 106, 203; 
signed by North Carolina, 
188; text of, 84 ff. 
Declaration of Rights, 81, 206; 
origin of, 77 ff.; what it 
contains, 78 f. 

Defoe, Daniel, 26, 240 
Delaware, 21, 50, 142 
Department of health of North 
Carolina, 199 

Dual government, 16 f.; why 
necessary, 107 ff. 

Duplin County, N. C., 186 


Eden ton, N. C., 189 
Education in North Carolina, 
text of, in state constitution, 
231 ff. 

Eliot, John, 49 

Eliot, Charles W., President 
Emeritus, of Harvard on 
American Democracy, 160 f. 
England, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 
30 . 33 . 4 2 > 68, 74; and Panama 
Canal, 163 
Establish justice, 111 
Europe, 30, 33, 49, 100 
Executive department of North 
Carolina, 215 ff. 

Faith toward all nations, 162 f. 
Family government, 12 
Farewell Address, Washington’s, 

151 ff. 

Fayetteville, N. C., second con¬ 
vention meets at, 191 
Federal government, 14 
Federal Hall, 146 
Filipinos, 163 

First Thanksgiving Proclama¬ 
tion, 148 f. 

Fisheries of North Carolina, 198 
Flag, The, how to salute, 173 f.; 
makers of the, 171 ff.; pledg¬ 
ing allegiance to, 173 f.; rules 
concerning, 174 ff. 

Flag rules, 174 ff. 

Florida, 20, 50, 59, 67 
“Form a more perfect union,” 
no f. 

Forsyth County, N. C., 186 
Fort Duquesne, 91 
Fort McHenry, 177 
Fort Raleigh, Roanoke I., 184 
Fort Wayne, Indiana, 55 
Fourth of July, 119; in South 
America, 119 
France, 20, 68, 70 
Franklin, Benjamin, 61, 62, 65, 
94, 99. J 7o; a story of, 59 ff.; 
example of, 60 f .; in France, 
69; last services of, 69 f.; 
portrait of, 61; scene in later 
life of, 103 


The Index 


243 


Freedom to worship God, 46 
French, 91; in North Carolina, 
186; in Ohio Valley, 67 
French and Indian War, 91 ff., 94 

Gaston, Judge William, 204 
General Assembly, of North 
Carolina, 189 

George III, King of England, 
81, 83 

George, King of England, 94 
Georgia, 21, 66, 67, 142 
Germans in North Carolina, 186 
Girl Reserve Ceremonial, in 
North Carolina, 175 
Gladstone, Wm. E., 118 
Good roads in North Carolina, 
197 f. 

Government, 12; by constitu¬ 
tion, 72 ff.; by law, 11 ff.; 
by written agreements, 72 f.; 
of industries, 13; origin of 
good, 19; stages of its growth, 
19 f. ; why necessary, 35 
Government by Constitution, 
origin of, 72 ff. 

Government by Law, 11 ff. 
Government by written agree¬ 
ments, 72 f. 

Great Charter, 75; origin of, 74 f. 

Halifax Convention, 203 
Halifax, N. C., 188, 189 
Hillsboro, N. C., 189; special 
convention held at, 190 
Home Demonstration Club for 
Girls, 195 

Homesteads and exemptions, of 
North Carolina, 234 f. 

House of Commons, of North 
Carolina, 188 ff. 

How to salute the flag, 173 f. 
Hudson River, 146 

Illinois, 53 

Inauguration of Washington, 

146 f. 

Independence Day, in France, 

119 

Independence Hall, 108 


Indiana, 21, 30, 38, 46, 49, 53, 
149 

Indian trails, 21 

Insure domestic tranquillity, 

hi f. 

Irish, in North Carolina, 186 

James of England, King, 37 
Jamestown, 38, 40, 42, 44, 72, 
73, 107, 183; site of, 29; 
young women landing at, 41 
Jamestown Colony, example 
of, 37 ff. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 106, 170; on 
education, 155 f. ; on every 
citizen’s duty, 159 
Jersey Cattle Club, for boys and 
girls of N. C., 196 
John, King, 73, 74, 75, 76 
“Johnny Appleseed,” 53 
Judicial department, of North 
Carolina, 219 ff.; of United 
States, 130 f. 

Junto,” “The, 63 

Kentucky, 30, 53 
Key, Francis Scott, 177 f. 

Lane, Franklin K., 171,-203 
Law, 11, 15 

Law and order, growing respect 

for, 158 f. 

Learning to cooperate, 57 ff. 
Legislative department of North 
Carolina, 21 iff.; of United 
States, 121 ff. 

Liberty, Secure the blessings of, 
113; 37 

Lincoln, Abraham, 165; on true 
Americanism, 159 
Lincoln County, N. C., 186 
London Company, 37, 72, 73 

Magna Carta, 74, 76; what it is, 
75 

Maine, 20, 50, 59, 67 
Makers of our state govern¬ 
ment, 183 ff. 

Makers of the flag, 171 ff. 
Makers of the nation, 168 ff. 


244 


The Index 


Maryland, 21, 99, 142, 177 
Massachusetts, 21, 29, 42, 44, 
47, 49, 67, 142 
“ Mayflower," the 42 
“Mayflower" Compact, 42 f., 
46, 72; signing of, 43 
Mecklenburg County, N. C., 
Declaration of Independence 
of, 203 

Mexico, 20, 90, 161 
Militia of North Carolina, 237 
Mississippi River, 20, 57, 149 
Mississippi Valley, 20 
Monroe, James, 162 
Monroe Doctrine, 162 
Moravians in North Carolina, 
186 

Moseley, Edward, 50 
Mount Vernon, 99, 150; in 
Washington’s time, 144 
Municipal corporations of North 
Carolina, text of, in state 
constitution, 229 f. 

Municipal government, 13 

Nation, makers of the, 168 ff.; 

who they are, 168 f. 

National council, 75 
National government, 14, 16, 22 
National hymn, our, 177 ff. 
Nation’s flag, the, 169 ff. 

Neuse River, N. C., 186 
Newbern, N. C., 189 
New England, 50, 66 
New government, the, 147 ff.; 
an estimate of, 153 f. ; how 
created, 90 ff.; important 
duties of, 149 ff. 

New Hampshire, 21, 142 

New Jersey, 21, 142 

New World, 23, 25, 26, 40, 162; 

first law-making body in, 41 
New York, 21, 59, 143, 146 
North America, 33 
North Carolina, 21, 30, 50, 105, 
143, 147; adopts National 

Constitution, 190, agricul¬ 
ture of, 106; caring for the 
unfortunate of, 199 f.; colo¬ 
nists of, 185 ff.; colony of, 


185; colony of, becomes state, 
189; constitution of state of, 
206 ff. ; constitutional con¬ 
vention of, 188; cooperation 
in, 187 f.; department of 
health of, 199; develops self- 
reliance, 185; eligibility to 
office in, 227 ff.; executive 
department of, 215 ff.; fish¬ 
eries of, 198; French in, 186; 
General Assembly of, 190 f.; 
Germans in, 186; good roads 
of, 197 f.; homesteads and 
exemptions of, 234 f.; in 
French and Indian War, 187; 
Irish in, 186; judicial depart¬ 
ment of, 219-225; law and 
order of, preserved, 193; legis¬ 
lative department of, 211 ff.; 
militia of, 237; Moravians 
in, 186; penal institutions of, 
235 ; pioneers of, 183; 

preamble of state constitu¬ 
tion, 206; protects people of, 
193 f., 200; provides for local 
government of, 200; public 
charities of, 235 ff. ; public 
schools of, 194 f. ; punish¬ 
ments in, 235 ff.; revenue and 
taxation in, 225 f.; Scotch in, 
186; Scotch-Irish in, 186; 
signs Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence, 188; state capitol 
of, 192; state flag of, 203; 
state highways of, 197; state 
hospitals of, 199!.; state of, 
188 f.; suffrage in, 227 ff.; 
Swiss in, 186; text of mis¬ 
cellaneous items in constitu¬ 
tion of , 238 f. 

Northwest, the, 51, 55 

Ohio, 53, 57 

Ohio River, 52, 53, 91 

Ohio Valley, 50, 51, 55, 91 

Old North State,” “The, 204 

Our Government, 107 ff.; chief 
executive of, 115; freedom 
and protection of, 159 ff.; 
growth of, 19 ff.; judicial 


The Index 


245 


body of, 115; legislative body 
of, 115; need for study of, 
17 f.; organization of, ii3f.; 
powers of, reserved to state 
and people, 11J7 f.; what 

other nations say of it, n8f. 
Our greatest patriot, 91 ff. 

Our State Government, makers 
of, 183 ff. 

Page, William Tyler, 180 
Pamlico Sound, 186 
Panama Canal, 163 
Paris, 70 
Parliament, 76 
Patriotism, 24, 90 f. 

“Peggy Stewart,” burning of 
the, 80 

Penal institutions of North 
Carolina, 235 ff. 

Penn, William, 45, 50, 73; as 
governor, 46 

Penn’s treaty with Indians, 45 
Pennsylvania, 21, 50; example 

of, 45 ff. 

Period of our national life, 20 
Period of separation from Great 
Britain, 20 

Petition of Rights, 76; origin of, 
76 

Philadelphia, 45, 46, 59, 63, 99, 
109, 145 

Philippine Islands, 163 
Pilgrims, 29, 42, 44, 72; example 
of, 42 ff. 

Pioneers, 23, 25, 35, 49; develop 
spirit of service, 49 f.; of 
North Carolina, 183 
Pledging allegiance to the flag, 

173 f- 

Postal system, beginning of, 66 f 
Preamble of Constitution of 
U. S., no, 155; of constitu¬ 
tion of North Carolina, 193 ff., 
206 

President, the first, 143 f. 
President Wilson, 180; on Pan¬ 
ama Canal tolls, 164; on 
World War, 164 f. 

Promote the general welfare, 
112 f. 


Provide for the common defense, 
112 

Public charities of North Caro¬ 
lina, 235 ff. 

Public schools of North Caro¬ 
lina, 194 f. 

Public school system, our, 
155 ff.; what it offers, 156 f. 
Punishments in North Carolina, 

235 ff- 

Puritans, 44; settle Boston, 44 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 184 
Revenue and taxation, of North 
Carolina, 225 f. 

Revolutionary War, 46, 50, 63, 
68, 109, 145 

Rhode Island, 21, 49/99, 105, 
143 , 147 

Roads, good, in North Carolina, 

197 f. 

Rules, flag, 174 
Runnymede, 74 

St. Thomas Chapel, Bath, N. C., 
186 

Salisbury, N. C., 189 

Salute to flag, 170; form of, 

173 f- 

School government, 12 f. 
Scotch, in North Carolina, 186 
Scotch-Irish, in North Carolina, 
186 

Self-control, 33 
Self-defense, 16 

Self-government, 19, 24, 29, 36, 
37, 42, 91; beginning of, in 
America, 40 ff.; how devel¬ 
oped by pioneers, 35 ff 
Self-reliance, 19, 23, 24, 26, 29, 
32, 33; how developed by 
pioneers, 25 ff. 

Service to others, 49 ff. 

Service to others, a duty of 
government, 57 

Smith, Captain John, 29, 38, 39; 

portrait of, 39 
Source of government, 22 
South America, 161 
South Carolina, 21, 142 


246 


The Index 


Spain, 20, 90, 149, 163 
Stages of growth of government 
of U. S., 19 f. 

Stamp Act, 91 

Stamp Act Congress, 101 

“Star-Spangled Banner,” 177; 

how written, 177 f. 

Stars and Stripes, 170 
State capitol, of North Carolina, 
192 

State flag of North Carolina, 

203 

State government, 13 f. 

State highway, before building, 
197; after building, 198 
States, how the colonists be¬ 
came, 22 ff. 

State song of North Carolina, 

204 f. 

Taxation, 201 ff. 

Tennessee, 32 
Thanksgiving, 44 
Thanksgiving Proclamation, 
First, 148 f. 

Thirteen colonies, the, 21 f. 
Trenton, N. J., 145 
True Americanism, 155 ff., 168; 
defends freedom and inde¬ 
pendence, 161 f.; what it is, 
155 

“Uncle Johnny Appleseed,” 55 
Union, need of, 68 f.; proposed, 
of colonies, 67 f. 


United States, 16, 17, 47, 107; 

how unlike other nations, 188 
United States Senate, reply of, 
to state of North Carolina, 

191 f. 

Value of law, 15 f. 

Value of self-reliance, 25 
Victor Emmanuel of Italy, King, 
119 

Virginia, 21, 29, 37, 40, 42, 47, 
91, 99, 107, 142 

Washington, George, 91, 97, 99, 
143,170; and the new govern¬ 
ment, 150 ff.; as first Presi¬ 
dent, 142 ff.; birthday of, 
93 f.; death of, 153; Farewell 
Address of, 151®.; his jour¬ 
ney to New York, 145!.; 
inauguration of, 146 f.; por¬ 
trait of, 92 
West Indies, 26, 161 
White House, The, in 1799, 114; 

of today, 116 
Williams, Roger, 49 
Wilmington, N. C., 189 
Wilson, Woodrow, 170 f., 180; 
on Panama Canal tolls, 164; 
on World War, 164 f. 

World War, 164 

Yorktown, 93, 95 











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